


Greek God

by CometEclipse



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, F/M, Fantasy, Magic, Nautical, Original Universe, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-25 05:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 72,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3798862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CometEclipse/pseuds/CometEclipse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hali had just moved to Roatan when she discovered a mysterious ring on an ancient ship while scuba diving. Because of this ring, Poseidon, God of the Oceans, became a helpless mortal. Whats more, together they landed in a very dangerous situation.</p>
<p>Originally published on Quizilla and FictionPress.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally thought this website was dedicated to fan fiction, so I didn't think to put my completed original stories up here. But I saw that was not true, so here they are! 
> 
> I wrote this story about seven or six years ago, and I think I have matured greatly as an author since then. So there are lots of issues with it, and maybe I will eventually go through and give it a hard edit. It has been so long, I worry that the feel would be different if I tried. But I hope, despite its flaws, you enjoy it!

Gorgeous. Bright blue sky, warm temperature, slight breeze brining the smell of tropical flowers. Looking around her with bright eyes, she took another deep breath. The smell reminded her of when her family had gone to Hawaii in her third grade. She did not remember much, but the smell would stay with her forever. Just like here. The exotic perfume coming from the flowers mixed with the briny ocean, just yards away. Nothing could compete with that smell.

A bump to her back reminded her to keep walking. "Just GO!" Her brother grumbled. Tossing a look at him through her long lashes, she picked up her suitcase and started towards the ocean. She could see it through the glass of the tiny airport.

Hali loved the ocean. More than the scent of the flowers. There was just something that sent her into a mood, almost as if she had just meditated. A calm, thoughtful mood. One of those moods were people asked you if something was wrong, and you answered everything was fine. And you actually meant it. Hali didn't know what it was. The briny scent, the cool breeze off of it, the rhythmic sound of waves on the shore, or the deep blue green color. Whatever the ocean's attraction had for her, it held her in thrall her entire life.

Perhaps it was her name. Hali laughed softly to herself, eyes fixed on the glisten of the ocean, within running distance. Her name, Hali, is Greek, and meant from the sea. Her dad, uncaring or unknowing, thought the name was pretty, and so named her. Perhaps condemning her to a life of dreaming she was a mermaid so she would never have to stop swimming. Ah, the freedom to never have to come up for air!

"Hali!" Knocked out of her musings by her brother's oh, so lovely growl, Hali scrunched her lips together and turned away from the window to look at her family. Her brother and her dad. Hali loved them, but most of the time they were such... men!

Her family story was a little confusing. Daddy, as she still called him, had never married. David was family man. He had wanted kids, even if a woman wouldn't have him. Sometimes Hali wondered if he was gay, but then watched his admittedly weak attempts at flirting with some woman, and immediately banished that idea. He was fine around guys, but so cute around women he tried to impress. Anyways, he had adopted Jace, when Jace was two and a half, and loved him like a real dad should. But he wanted a daughter.

Hali's parents were young, typical of children put up for adoption. Hali was still unborn when she was put up for adoption. Her dad jumped at the chance, wanting to have the joys of a newborn baby. Once her child was adopted, Hali's true mother wanted nothing more than to be rid of her. When she had given birth, she didn't even want to hold her, telling the doctors to give her to her new dad, who was so dedicated to having another child that he had come to the birth. Her daddy named her. Hali had never even seen her real parents, and she really didn't care to.

Walking across the small airport towards them, Hali took stock of the situation. Her dad was a scuba diver a darn good one too! Hali thought smugly. So good, that a popular resort in Rotan had offered him a job as one of their top scuba instructors. The job would come with a cottage for his family to move into, all expenses paid, such as gas, electricity and water, a jeep type car for getting around the island, and free food at the hotel during the seasons. After that we would have to make our own food.

Hali hoped life would be good. So, out of high school, and no plans for college, Hali also got a job at the hotel, although it was a sort of side job since her dad already had the job. She would do little side jobs, the tedious ones that people with real jobs hate to do.

Jace, well, Jace was slightly physically retarded. He had troubles with moving his legs. One of the reasons that her dad had adopted him was that he believed that he could help cure him. And he did, to a point. Swimming does wonderful things to a person's body, but it cannot completely cure. So, starting at the age of three, Jace had been swimming. If he wasn't developmentally disabled, Hali seriously believed that he could have gone for the Olympics. Jace was that determined to prove that he was normal, at least in swimming. He always walked in a weird stunted motion, but Hali never really noticed it anymore. Anyways, their dad didn't want Jace to be too far from an environment where he could do what he needed, and not be put down by people who think that he is mentally retarded.

Hali was another story. Her swimming was adequate, but not strong or fast. Hali had learned to swim just as early as Jace, but she wanted to see things. While Jace was going somewhere, Hali just looked around at what the ocean had to offer.

Moving towards the small pile of baggage stacked against the wall, Hali pulled out her brown roller, and stacked her carry-on on top of it. Outside, Hali was cool and collected, but inside she was shaking. She was nervous excited, and plenty ready to hit the beach.

"Hali, honey, can you take these outside? The hotel should have sent a pickup car, but I wanted to call and make sure that they know that we are here." Running a hand through his slightly shaggy brown hair, which had sun streaks in it from scuba diving so much, he looked like one of the stereo typical surfer guys, only not 18. Hali suppressed a smile. He still was very fit, and still handsome, the grey in his hair not really visible. Women usually were attracted to him, but were put off by how nervous he was.

"Sure thing dad." Rolling her luggage outside, she looked around for Jace. He stood off to the side, stiffly. Although they weren't actually siblings, Hali knew what he was thinking most of the time. The airport wasn't full, but that made it easier to see the other people. He didn't want to move, showing his handicap. A sad smile drifted across her lips. Poor Jace, although he would hate her if she thought she was giving him pity. Sympathy, after all, she wasn't about to give him too much. He could beat her up still.  
Sidling up to him, she nudged him. "The sooner you get outside, the quicker we can be gone." He looked down at her, the haunted look in his eyes. Growing up had not been easy on him. Smiling up at him, she hooked her arm through his, letting him put more weight on her to ease the pressure off of his legs, and led him towards the door. She knew from experience that this would help minimize his limp, making it seem as if he had a twisted ankle.

Once outside, she took another breath of the air. "Jace, I... do you think this is a good idea? You know, moving down here?" Hali had left a few friends behind, but as most of them were moving to different states to go to college, she did not leave much behind. Well, Hali smirked slightly; she had left behind a job at the grocery store, where a perverted guy would always hit on her. It was amusing to see his face when she told everyone she was leaving her job. He had wanted to know where she was getting a new one. His face was quite comical when she explained she was leaving the country.

"Yeah, I do, at least, for me. I think that this will be wonderful." Jace spoke in his deep, rich voice. Smiling up at him and squeezing his arm, she stared off at the ocean for a second, and went back inside.

After dragging the rest of their luggage out, a jeep pulled up. Inside was one of the friendliest looking grandma type ladies she had ever seen. Emblazoned on the side of the jeep was the logo for Beachside Scuba Resort. This was the hotel, or resort, where they were going to be living from now on. After looking around at the sparse crowd, she got out of her jeep and walked straight over towards Hali and Jace.

"Hello there dears! Am I correct in assuming that you are the Nelson family?" After their nods of agreement, their dad walked out the door. "Ah, and you must be David Nelson. How do you do? I am Elsa Black; I spoke with you a number of times on the phone."

"Ah, Elsa, how are you!" Their dad was a very friendly man, one who conversed easily with almost everyone, except ladies he found attractive. After the common pleasantries were exchanged, they loaded their gear into the car, and started down the road. Staring straight ahead at the ever growing patch of water, Hali got nerves in her stomach. Almost there, almost there, she repeated to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

"So much for swimming," Hali mumbled groggily into her pillow. It was the next day. She had not had any time to do anything; they had spent all of yesterday looking over the grounds and unpacking, all to dearest daddy's request. She wanted to shoot him.

Flipping over onto her back, she stared at the ceiling. Of her new room. Her old room had had blue wallpaper made out like sunlight on the ocean, and a stripe of an underwater scene. This room had no wallpaper, it was all wood, and white washed. Not that there was anything wrong with the room, it was just... strange and different. And a little intimidating.

The cottage they were in was about sixty yards from the side of the resort. It was one story, with a small kitchen, three bedrooms, a living room, wreck room, and an odd room, where her dad planned to keep all of their equipment. The entire house was made of wood. And, although it was rare, Hali didn't think that was all together smart due to the hurricanes. But, hey, whatever, she doubted that she was going to spend a mega ton of time in the house. Not while there was a perfectly good beach just ten yards away.

Hali quickly dressed in a two piece swim suit, black with green polka dots, put on her wet suit, and went to the odd room. Looking around the mess that happens when you just move into a house, she sorted through the piles until she found her snorkel wear. Smiling excitedly, she went out the door, and stopped. Jace was sitting on the steps of the wraparound porch.

"Hey bro," Hali said, dropping a kiss on his head and plopping down next to him. She suppressed a smile, as her brother was also dressed in his wet suit.

"Knew you would be up soon!" Raising his arms above his head and stretching his developed arms, he, oh so accidentally, smacked her in the head. Grinning down at her, "Just didn't think it would take you so long to get moving!"

Hali rubbed her head, not that it actually hurt, and stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, you should have started without me, cause I am going to get there first!" Hali jumped up, snagged her gear and raced over the beach towards to ocean. Hearing a groan come from her brother she laughed over her shoulder at him as she took her first steps into this ocean.

Hmmm, the water was considerable warmer than the waters of Washington. Wriggling her toes into the water and sand, Hali took a deep breath, and stared out over the water. It was about nine o clock, this countries time, but with the time difference, she was off, somehow. Normally she would be up by, at the latest, eight. The sun was high enough to give off heat, but not so high as she would need sunscreen. One of the things that Hali hated about herself was that she was pretty fair skinned, unlike Jace and her dad. They both tanned easily, but she burned, and once the burn faded to a tan, the tan would last for two weeks, and then disappear.

An impact in her back sent Hali diving forward into the water, submerged totally. The shock of the water was not nearly so great as that of Jace slamming into her. Coming up for air sputtering, she glared at Jace, who was taking great pleasure in her fall. Well, glared until she joined in the laughter. She couldn't stay mad at him for very long, they were closer than most siblings were.

Jace was quite handsome. He had a straight nose, slashing eyebrows that curved just slightly, tousled brown hair, with the Nelson family sun streaks, a strong square jaw and nice lips. The only reason that he was not popular with the girls was his limp, or if that didn't put them off, his incredible shyness due to his limp did. He had a wonderful swimmers body, well developed arms, chest, and back muscles. A flat six pack and again, developed legs. He had a couple of scars running across his back and chest, and she smiled at them. Although scars where painful when you got them, they were a sort of badge of honor for the family. And she knew all of his.

One was from a barracuda, Jace had been about 16, determined to prove that he was the brightest creature of the entire ocean, by not wearing his wet suit and getting a barracuda riled up. Of course, all he proved was that he needed 17 stitches along his back. Or the cat shark bit on his shoulder. He told everyone that it was from a grey, but she knew differently. If a grey had taken a bit out of her brother, he wouldn't have an arm. Some of the other scars where from when they went snorkeling and he got nicked on a few things. Those just happen. You look down, see the blood washed away as soon as it wells, and unless there are sharks nearby, you just keep going. The salt in the ocean will help clear it out and sanitize it.

Putting a hand up to her arm, she touched her favorite scar through her wet suit. It was right above her elbow, wrapping around her arm. Octopus scar. The suckers. Most people don't know that the suckers leave a dashed painful sting, the circles from the suckers remaining white, but the skin around it red. Once it all heals, though, the circular scars stay pure white. She was quite proud of those scars, and always told the tale to whoever asks.

Pushing her hair out of her face, she slipped her mask on, and then sat in the water to put on her fins. Jace did the same, giving her a teasing grin. "Let's see what this ocean has to offer, huh?" Jace dived into the shallow water, his snorkel tip sticking out of the water, kicking his fins so that Hali got sprayed. She sat there, shaking her head. Oh, man, was he getting seaweed strands in his bed tonight. Doing a similar dive, Hali went right in, chasing after Jace.

***

Many people were sitting at a golden, oval table, drinking from gold goblets filled with a golden liquid. The room they were in was not exactly a room. There were dozens of gleaming white columns with gauzy white material draped in between them. The view from all sides of the room was out into a blue sky with puffy white clouds dotted all around the place, giving the appearance that they were very high up. The floor of the room appeared to be made up of the same white clouds, and if you looked closely at the clouds in the distance, you could vaguely see golden buildings or structures on them as well. Overall, the color scheme for the place seemed to be gold and white.

Turning back to the men and women around the table, they also followed the color scheme, albeit some more than others. Everyone was dressed in a pure white toga, the men's coming to their knees and the women's to the floor. The togas were form fitting, with only one strap. All of the people there had golden hair, which was surprising, giving all of the stories about them. And then, all of the people had a broach or seal on the one strap, right before it flared out to cover the women's entire chest, or half of the males. This was where the color scheme went slightly off. There was a man whose medallion was pure gold with a lightning bolt engraved into it. There was another man's that was gold, but his had a sun on it. There was a female whose medallion was the deepest, darkest blue, with a bow and arrow upon it. A woman had one of the purest green containing a bowl of bountiful food. All in all, although not all of the medallions where gold, they still had the same shimmery, luminous color to it. And, all in all, although the people did all have the same golden hair, that was about were the similarities ended.

A man stood up, his medallion the one of the sun. "I know that we have not had a meeting like this in a long time. However, the oracle, which has not made any predictions for many a long time, has spoken." The handsome man spoke in a deep voice, his brow knit in worry. "And before any of you say anything bad about my oracle, there are no longer men who use what the women say for profit. This time the oracle's words are true, not blurred by what others say. Anyways," here the man took a breath, "We all know that, although we do still rule, no one believes in us anymore. We have no true followers, and I know that that has made some of us weaker, as is the role humans play on the earth. The oracle says that the only way for us to retain any power is to..." Here he looked uncomfortably around the table. "Aha, hmm, is to fall in love with the mortals."


	3. Chapter 3

Apollo's pronouncement was greeted with a stunning silence, and then all hell broke loose. Or, as close to hell as gods could get while on Mt. Olympus. Hera clung to Zeus, and Aphrodite ran around the table to Hephaestus, crying horribly, but still looking beautiful. Hades went really pale, started to stutter, and then changed to his favorite image, that of a pale man with a black cloak and cowl. Artemis was arguing forcefully with the Hermes, who was flying above the crowd now. All in all, there were only a few silent.

Eros and Psyche clutched hands staring at each other, in a little fear. Eros was, after all, the god of love, and could not be persuaded to love anyone else. But Eros would do anything for Psyche. If it meant Psyche's survival, he would, with the greatest pain, prick her with one of his arrows to make her fall in love with another.

Poseidon, who was sitting next to Psyche, reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't you even think it Eros. There is no way that you two are parting." Poseidon stood up, his stance broad and strong, braced for combat. His hair was just as golden as all the others, and his skin had a slightly luminous quality to it. He was, just as the other gods, in the form Zeus demanded they all wear when they were in an official meeting. In this guise, if a mortal were to somehow reach the top of Mt. Olympus, which had happened, the mortal would not be able to look at them. Their voices were to rich and melodious for a regular to hear. When it came to matters of great secrecy, Zeus took no chances.

"Apollo, I think that you are throwing more than one couple into hysterics. Now tell us what really needs to happen."

Zeus slapped his hand on the table, putting his arm around Hera's shoulders. "You do need to tell us more than that. Hades, change back instantly. Why you like to look like death I will never know! Hermes sit down! And everyone BE QUIET!" The ending yell shut everyone up. "Thank you!" with a regal incline with his head, he indicated for Apollo to continue.

"Ah, yes. Well, not everyone needs to fall in love. And not necessarily in love, but also in friendship. And um... well you know that the oracles' prophesies are not as complete as they use to be," a loud harrumph erupted from Ares, who Apollo glared at, "But, we need to linger among the mortals once more. Not as our true selves, that would be disaster, but take a human form, and have relationships with people. People who are similar, who can aid your power. Ares would do wonderfully with some of the war generals. Poseidon, there are tons of people who love the sea. Hermes, there are now men who fly jets almost as fast as you. Don't you see? Keeping to ourselves is not aiding anyone. And if some do fall in love, well, then we will have one worshiper for a long time."

A few of the gods looked troubled, and others seemed willing to try it. Zeus had forbid them to mingle after some very unsettling events happened, a number of them resulting in offspring who tormented the gods.

All heads then turned to Zeus. He looked thoughtful, staring off into the clouds. "Yes... I believe that it would be a wise idea. I have always marveled at the men who make fireworks. Maybe I should talk with them. Yes, it is decided. We shall be allowed to go among mortals once more. However, be wise whom you tell your secret to. Not everyone will like it." After discussing a few other tidbits of importance, Zeus dismissed the meeting.

Instantly people dropped the golden guise. Dresses and fabrics in all colors replaced the togas, and hair color appeared. Poseidon, as did a few others, kept his toga on. He liked it. He was able to swim in it, and it was comfortable. Then, a pair of white feathered wing materialized on his back, and he pushed off into the sky.

Poseidon donned invisibility and swept through the sky. He liked to fly, it reminded him of swimming. However, nothing could compare to swimming in the ocean, to the dark secret depths were his palace lay, to the sunny, warm, and shallow waters. As he was a god, he was not affected by such things as depth pressure, or the bitterly cold. He felt temperatures, and, if he chose to, could actually feel them, but when it came to extremes, he could easily choose to not notice it.

Poseidon was a Greek god. In every sense of the word. A handsome face and muscular body, his eyes blue, constantly changing to what the nearest ocean looked like, a patrician nose, slashing eyebrows, and high cheekbones. Although the golden curls were what Zeus demanded the gods show when with him, Poseidon actually preferred the color and wore it regularly. His physic was that of a swimmer, broad shoulders tapering down to his waist. All in all, a very handsome man, not bad for someone who was older than recollection.

Poseidon moved out to the middle of the ocean, and then started to descend. The wings off his back vanished, and Poseidon brought himself into a dive position, and plunged into the refreshing water. Sighing in pleasure, he dove deeper, recalling Apollo's words.

Rejoin the mortals? What would that do to everyone? He had noticed that some of the gods looked a little peeked, tired. Eros never seemed to be tired, and Poseidon supposed that, to do his work, he must be among the mortals. There were a few other gods who had walked among the mortals, but no one stayed long, except for Eros. Hades, for one, after all, all mortals die. Ares was another. There were fewer wars now, and they were not as horrible as they used to be. However, newer types of wars were available, such as ones in the court rooms. Ares would have lots of fun, swishing around invisibly, soaking up the anger. Poseidon shook his head. Sometimes he just did not understand his fellow gods.

Poseidon stopped up short, thinking. Well, if it was his new commandment to mingle with mortals, why didn't he start now? Thinking for a minute, he touched his pendant, a luminous blue gold with a wave on it, and he was standing on a crowded street. He was in a mist type form, no one could touch him or see him, but he was there.

He was in a city called New York. And boy, had things changed since he walked with mortals. Women wore a lot less now. Things were much noisier, and yet it was the same. Cities! Looking around at what the other men were wearing, he changed his toga into a white shirt the stretched nicely over his broad shoulders. For pants, he wore a pair of jeans that, although he did not notice it, showed his butt off nicely. Walking over to where to a deep patch of shadows, Poseidon made himself solid. Stepping out into the sunlight, he was immediately noticed by many a woman.

Poseidon watched the flirtatious, sly, and lavish grins he was getting, and smiled a wicked little smile. Ah yes, the 21st century may be very different than the Greek and Roman time, but the women still couldn't resist a God. Sauntering along the streets and eye flirting with a number of women, Poseidon guessed that he was going to have fun with this century.

***

Hali shook her hair back. It was full night now, but she did not want to go into the restaurant to get food yet. Besides, it was still very warm, and she had eaten a ton for lunch.

She was sitting on a rock, and the waves would wash over her gently as she sat staring at the sun set, and then the stars. She was in one of those moods. Peaceful, and yet, longing. For a long time, years, night was always a blessing and a pain. Night brought a feeling of something. Nostalgia. Something was missing from her life, and the moon revealed the feeling.

Listening to the soft sound of waves, birds, and of the night, Hali stayed on that rock, a forlorn little person next to the vast ocean. Hali sighed and bit her lip. Yes, something was definitely missing.


	4. Chapter 4

Hali sat on the porch, waiting for her brother. It was going to be another beautiful day, and this time, they were actually going to go scuba diving. Yesterday, their father had spent his whole time being shown where his scuba shack was, what his schedule would be like, proving he know how to work with the gear, and getting himself organized.

"ARGGG! HALI, I AM GOING TO GET YOU!" Jace yelled from inside the house. Hali just sat still, smirking. Ah, the joys of seaweed... especially wet. And a little smelly...

Hali was decked out in a blue swimsuit with tiny yellow stripes on it. You can tell you are a swimmer when you have more swimsuits than shirts. Down on the sand at her feet was her dry suit, since they may get to explore some shipwrecks pretty far down, and her mask and snorkel. Their dad was brining all of the air equipment, and the flippers, so Hali had to go meet up with him, sometime. After Jace untangled himself from the seaweed that she had put in a bucket above his door. Speaking of... she should probably be moving now.

Picking up her gear, Hali jogged backwards towards the shack that their dad was in. Sure enough, Jace still had a few little bits of seaweed clinging to his wetsuit and in his hair. His face was angry and affectionate at the same time. Hali just laughed and turned around, sprinting towards their dad, who was now outside watching them and shaking his head. Although Jace was not great at running, he could, it wasn't exactly fun to watch, but when he had enough incentive, he could catch up, which is why Hali ran.

"Okay you two. I can tell Hali has been having a little fun!" Her dad gave her a lopsided grin, his eyes dancing with amusement. "I have the coordinates to the shipwreck. It has been thoroughly combed over, so if you do find some long lost buried treasure," here he gave Hali a wry glance, "then you get to keep it."

Hali had always wanted to find something from a shipwreck. A tiny little piece of plaster would be great, or a coin. She was not looking for a whole treasure, just something small, preferably something she could wear, so she could boast about it. How fun would it be to wear part of a long lost treasure? Hali couldn't wait. She and Jace had had to take a special course before they could go to their first sunken ship, but the ship was really a joke. It was basically nothing. A few beams, and a bit of scattered wood. For all she could tell, it was a pilling that had fallen into the water.

Their second one had been better. The hull was in place, with the mast lying to the side. It was not possible to go inside, for the scuba gear would bump against the walls, and perhaps create a hazardous situation. So Hali had spent the entire time gazing in through any cracks, determined that if she saw something, she would go in. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for someone tried just that and almost died, Hali saw nothing that could possibly be treasure. That was the last one that they had been to.

"Now, this ship is in good condition," There dad was telling them its history as they suited up, "It is not quite know what era the ship is from, although it should be obvious. Her name is Poseidon's Wrath, spelt in Greek. So, it was built during or after the Greek era, but could have been made my any number of countries. Apparently she went down in a very remote location, where there were no rocks, no storms really appear there. So, they don't know how she sank. Due to its location, the people believe that it was attacked and sunk, but there are no major holes or problems. Whatever happened to her, she is guarding her secrets well."

Hali couldn't wait. Her stomach was a ball of nervousness, and she practically bounced on her toes, waiting for the two slow pokes to get done. Jace looked over at her, smiled, and started to do everything in slow motion.

"Arg! You are so aggravating!" Picking up her fins, she went out onto the dock. The hotel or Resort had given her dad a boat for his own use. It was 25 foot Cobalt, and it had a cabin, which was perfect for changing. Hali had not used it yet, but she loved it already. It could go pretty fast.

Squirming impatiently on her chair, she waited until her father and brother got in before she started to talk. "So, how far is it? No historian can find out anything about its background? There has to be something! Does it still have the figure head? You brought the underwater camera, right?"

Her dad laughed at all of her questions, answering her in order. "It is pretty far, so I brought food and reading materials for our break. No, nothing is sure about our mysterious Wrath, or "Wraith", as some are calling it because of her lack of knowledge. Yes, the boat has a figure head; in fact, it is pretty much intact, which led some people to think that it was only recently sunk, but no boats have gone missing recently. And yes, I would never go diving without the camera."

Hali helped cast off with her brother, pushing off from the dock. The ship had her intrigued. Oh, she couldn't wait to get her teeth in it! Figuratively speaking, of course. Hali started to bounce her knee.

***

Poseidon sat in a five star restaurant, cutting his way through a steak. Gods, did he not know what he had been missing! New York had many things going for it. The food was Poseidon's favorite so far. In Olympus and his underwater Palace, the food was wonderful, almost too wonderful. Somehow there seemed to be no flavor besides the "wonderful". Here, on earth, there was tangy, zesty, juicy, spicy (which did not work very well for him), salty, creamy... the list went on and on. It was wonderful to have some variety to a diet.

Ah, and the beds here. Poseidon had no need to worry about money. Whenever he first arrived here, after watching other people pay for things, he had conjured up money in his pocket, and then pulled it out. Although, that method didn't work for very long. He had gone into a jewelry store, looking for something for Psyche (Eros is Poseidon's best friend, so, in return, Psyche was as well) and found a pretty little ring with a red stone. It turned out to be a red diamond, and cost around 10,000 dollars. So, Poseidon, again conjuring the needed money, pulled it all out of his pocket and gave it to the man selling it to him. By the man's strange expression and the way that he sized Poseidon up, he decided he needed to be less conspicuous. He watched other people pay, most with a little silver card, and then left. By the time he had left, all of the other employees were watching him with a hesitant, concerned look.

Having obtained his MasterCard, Poseidon wandered around the town. He felt... strange, almost as if he were about to collapse. His eyes were dropping, and he couldn't keep them open. His usually keen mind was starting to sort of fade in and out. Poseidon knew that mortals had to sleep, but he was a god! Gods don't sleep! Maybe I am not as strong as I used to be? Or maybe taking the form and mannerisms of a Mortal is affecting me? Determined to later consider it, Poseidon made his way to a Hotel that looked fit enough for him to sleep in, paid the lady at the front counter, who had flirted outrageously with him, and made his way up to an ornate room.

There were three rooms. The first was a sitting room done up in gold and cream. There were leather couches and chairs placed around the room in coordinated mayhem. A large TV sat against the wall with a solid glass coffee table in front of it. There was an electric fireplace and heavy curtains over a whole wall of windows. When Poseidon pulled them back, the view showed a very pleasant park.

The two doors led to a bedroom and the bathroom. The bathroom was fully marbled and tiled. A large shower sat in one corner, and a gigantic bath was along one side. There was a small door with the words Sauna lead to a small room. Poseidon was curious what it was, as he had never heard of such a thing.

Ah, the bedroom. The bed was gigantic, and large enough to fit his 6 foot 4 inch frame. Again a full wall of windows was overlooking the park, but Poseidon pulled the curtains back. It was not quite dark out, and he needed to crash. The colors in this room were the same as the others, and the bed had gold gauze coming down from the ceiling and surrounding it.

Shifting his clothes off and sliding into the cool silk sheets, Poseidon sighed in pleasure. Lying awake for a little while, he thought about his purpose for coming to the Mortal earth. The women. Although New York was a fascinating place... the women here did not intrigue him. They were all cool and sophisticated and seemed not to show real emotions. Before he drifted off to sleep, he mentally made a note to explore the world some more.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hellooo beautiful!_ God, she was gorgeous. Slowly dolphin kicking, or as she used to call it the "mermaid swim", her way down to the depths, Hali took in the shipwreck. It was just before high noon, so the water was light, and the tropics made the visibility clear, however, they were pretty far down, so that the reds, yellows, and slightly the oranges were seeped from the water. Preparing for anything, Hali had brought her high voltage beam, to restore true color and light. The flashlight was in her left hand, and her underwater digital camera was dangling from a clip on her right wrist, awaiting instructions.

The ship was lying partially on its side, and partially upward, almost as if a large windstorm was making it heel to the left. From the decent angle they were at, Hali could see the back of Poseidon's Wrath. Hali had been wondering how the divers had uncovered the name of the ship when the paint would have been one of the first things to come off in the water. Now Hali understood. Carved into the back of the ship, in a flowing script, were two words. However, as it was in Greek, Hali only assumed that Poseidon's Wrath was what was stated there.

The boat was surprisingly clear of any type of marine structure. There was no coral on it, no seaweed, no fish. Usually that gave the appearance that the ship had only recently sunk. Yet there had been no news of a shipwreck recently. And the carving of the name into the ship? That was an older method. Sure, some people tried to make their boats look older, for a sense of style. Looking again, Hali stopped. Okay, the sediments on either side were piled up, covering the bottom and keeping it locked in place. Sediment moves with the tide, but not too quickly it had to have been there for enough time that about there were three feet high sediment drifts.

More and More puzzled and more and more intrigued, Hali swam faster towards the mysterious Wrath. The hull was intact, basically, with a few rotted away boards to where the darkness enveloped everything. Circling the ship, she came to the side where the deck was, more or less, upright. Three masts, the foremast, mainmast, and mizzenmast. The first one, the foremast, was still attached to the ship, although broken about halfway up, its tip lying on the sand. The two other masts looked as if someone had pulled them out and laid them perfectly aligned with the ship on the sand. Again strange. There was no sign of rope, sail, or anything loose on the deck. The wheel was still in place, and moved slightly in the current. Usually it would be all chocked with barnacles, but there didn't appear to be any live animals, or the appearance that there once were live animals on the ship.

Shaking her head, she moved around to the front of the ship. Her breathing sped up, which was a bad thing. Forcefully keeping her breathing normal. Hali stopped and tread water slowly. There was a figure head. And she was beautiful. Possibly the most pristine part of the ship. The woman's face was noble, as if from royalty, everything practically perfect. She had beautifully shaped eyebrows over eyes that actually contained irises, which most figureheads didn't have. A straight patrician nose led down to a full mouth, which curved just slightly, giving the appearance that she was amused with Hali's stunned assessment. She was wearing a flowing gown; again something that looked like it was Greek. Her hair was unbound flowing down to her waist and back to attach to the boat. Her arms where brought up to her breast and her hands where cupped, one on top of the other, to her chest, giving the appearance that she was slightly guarding a necklace. And at the very bottom of it all where her dainty feet, pointed and looked like they were about to start dancing. Doing a quick mental picture, her feet would be right above the spray of the water, giving the appearance that she was dancing on the spray. What craftsmanship!

Hali continued to the other side of the boat, peeping into portholes and such. Hali was a little nervous; she didn't want to see dead bodies or decaying ones. However, room after room, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. The ship was stripped. There was a captain's room, a bunk displayed, but no mattress or chairs or tables. The crew's berth, with pegs to hang up hammocks was once again, mysteriously empty. Peeking into the main room, Hali looked around. There were holes for cannons or sweeps. However, neither was prominent. The sweeps would have had benches, but the benches could have been removable. The crew would have also eaten in here, and the doctor worked here if there had been battles, so the benches would have been in the way.

Her father broke a little outdoor light and it started to glow red. They had ten more minutes. Hali hadn't realized that she had taken so long to look at the structure. Sweeping her camera up in one hand, she started to take snapshots of the structure, from all angles, inside and out. Finally swimming up to the figurehead, Hali took pictures of it extensively, starting with her toes. Working her way from one side to the other, Hali mapped out the lady, who was apparently Poseidon's Wrath. Wondering vaguely what she had done to deserve the wrath of a god, Hali dismissed it. Gods, hah! She was probably just a woman someone had admired, and the name was one the owner thought up. Not connected.

Hali was taking pictures of the ladies hands when she saw something glint. Lifting her head from the viewfinder, she looked again. Nothing. Hali put her head back down and took a picture. Hali changed angles and looked at the hands again. Again there was a glint. Again, Hali raised her head. Looking a little harder this time, Hali leaned closer. There! The glint had come off her middle finger. Looking around at her brother and father, she saw they were engaged with other matters. Peeling off one of her gloves, Hali thanked herself for wearing the gloves on the outside of her dry suit; she got closer and brought her hand up to the finger.

Slowly rubbing her fingers down the ladies, she felt a bump, and then a decrease in the bump. It was a band. Hali took controlled breaths, and looked closer. Yes, there was a band. Slowly rubbing her fingers across the band, she rubbed away a considerable layer of grim. Working quicker by the minute, Hali revealed a ring. It was a blue metal. Frowning in puzzlement, Hali stared at it. It had the same properties as gold. The iridescent glow and luster, the soft and yet hard feel to it.

Feeling slightly bad, Hali tried to pry to ring off. Hey, it was her piece of buried treasure. However, it was a no go. It was stuck. Taking another look at the ring, she saw the hand itself. Instead of the four fingers touching, there was a gap between the middle finger and the other two. Logically, it seemed as if the ring was made to come off the finger. Hali tried one more time, feeling the weight of time pressing against her. She knew any minute one of her family could come over and see what she was doing. Hali grasped the band and wiggled it back and forth. It moved! Taking measured breaths, Hali wiggled it up. That worked! Slowly and steadily wriggling and sliding the ring, she got it up over the knuckle and it slipped off quickly.

And Hali stared down at what she had found. A band? Oh no! That had been the bottom facing out. The top of the ring was gorgeous. Again the blue metal shone. Yet, however, that was not the only shiny thing. The purest pearls she had ever seen were held into place with fastenings of the blue metal. There were also emeralds, and sapphires. The pattern was exquisite and unique. The Emeralds were cut into swaying strips, looking like seaweed. The pearls looked like luminous bubbles in different sizes rising to the surface. And in-between the strands and bubbles were the blue stones, showing that this was underwater. God what a find!

Her father had broken open the red stick. Time to ascend. Slipping the ring into a divers pouch, Hali kicked into autopilot. Slipping her glove back on, taking a few snapshots at the ladies face, Hali then headed toward her father. Dear god! What had she discovered? How was she ever going to explain the existence of the ring to her dad and brother? The truth, she supposed, well, not the whole truth, just that she had found it at the shipwreck. Hali, in a daze didn't remember going up to the boat, nor getting out of her gear and changing into dry clothes. She kept the little mesh bag tied around her waist.

And all Hali could think about was the ring.


	6. Chapter 6

Groggily looking around the room, Poseidon took a few seconds to orientate himself. Okay... he had gone to bed about one last night, and it was now... he squinted at the little gold alarm, twelve in the afternoon. Groaning, he rolled over onto his back. Why had he slept so long? Gods don't need sleep! Slowly, allowing his brain to start functioning again, he mulled it over. Or, his mind just wandered.

Each god has their strengths... his was the ocean. And each god has their weaknesses. Ares and Eros don't get along very well, their mutual disagreement turning to outright arguments during the Conflict over Helen of Troy. The love caused the battle, and boy was it a battle. Ares was ecstatic... and Eros was so angry, many people who were in love died in the war, and the whole original problem, that no one fell in love for ages. That was before Psyche was around. Now, Eros couldn't stay mad for long.

Poseidon had his weakness too, only it was not an object or another god. It was a woman. Poseidon had thought he loved her. Her name was Lotus... which should have been his first clue that she was not to be dealt with. Anyways, he brought Lotus up to Olympus, seeking to petition Zeus to make her immortal. Poseidon had loved her, and she had loved power. She wandered around Olympus as vain and selfish as any mortal queen.

After a while, she came across Hephaestus. She took a look around his workshop, loud and dirty, and was ready to leave, when a small glass case caught her eye. Inside was some of the most beautiful jewelry she had ever seen. Gold, which was shinier than any she had ever seen, metals with more luster than diamonds. Rubies, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts... all set into intricate designs and stunning features. Necklaces, bracelets, broaches, rings. The list went on and on.

Lotus, being vain albeit very beautiful and kind when she wanted to be, went to Poseidon, seeking a gift of Hephaestus's. She wanted a ring... just like the mortals on land used, for him to pledge to her that they were married, in a way. Poseidon agreed, and asked Hephaestus to make whatever Lotus wanted.

What Lotus wanted was the ring, designed to look like the ocean, to appease Poseidon. She also wanted Poseidon's power. So, one of the nights, she clipped some of his hair, and brought it with her to the forge the next day.

Now Lotus, although crafty and cunning, was not knowledgeable in the way of gods. She thought that if she put some of Poseidon's hair into the ring, then the ring would gain some of his power, and since she would wear it, she would be powerful. However, the metals were no normal metals; they had power of their own. They changed the magic of the hair. So instead of the ring, once completed with a bit of Poseidon's hair tucked into the very heart of the ring, being powerful, all it did was cancel out Poseidon's power whenever it was near to him. Lotus was furious.

She left Poseidon, cursing him and cursing the ring that did not work. But she was too greedy to give up the priceless ring. Instead she took herself back down to the mortal realm.

Poseidon had his revenge. He built a ship, and placed her as the figure head. Well... he hadn't placed her as the figure head; Zeus had done that for him. The ring had been too close to him, and so he could not do magic. Lotus had known that, and died with a smirk on her face. Poseidon sent it off, the currents of the ocean carrying it far away, and then he had sunk it. It was still there, he knew by accounts of dolphins he sent out there to check on it.

Poseidon winced. Gods, he had been a vengeful. Wiggling uncomfortably, he grimaced. He was not proud of what he had done. Not only had he totally misjudged someone, him a god, but he had also allowed her to cause problems for the other gods. Nothing large, just some spiteful tales told once she got back to the earth.

Getting up, Poseidon willed some new clothing into the massive oak wardrobe and started to change. Still musing over the past, he realized that was what he didn't like about New York. Lotus had been like so many of the woman he had seen on the streets yesterday. Beautiful, perfectly poised and heartless.

Looking himself over in the mirror, he nodded in satisfaction. There was something to say about mortal clothing. A white silk shirt rested easily across his broad shoulders. Black slacks hugged his thighs, and tooled leather shoes worked perfectly to bring everything together. Walking out of the bedroom, and into the beautifully appointed living room, he made up mind. He was going to go down and check on the ring.

He would not be affected by the ring, as it was not on a living person. Wood was in no way going to hurt him. He just stayed away because he didn't like the memories. But he was going to go. If he was to move on with his life, especially since they were now to mingle with the mortals, he wanted to put behind that part of his life.

However, he didn't know how to get there without using magic, and he wanted to do this without magic, which had gotten him into the whole mess to begin with. The medallion that had been on his toga was now smaller, hung around his neck on a leather thong. Brining his hand up to touch the blue metal, he sent out a though to Eros.

_Eros? What do you know of travel?_ The thoughts were sent to Eros, replaying in his head.

_What type of travel?_ Poseidon heard the amused note in the voice in his head. _How far do you plan on going?_

_Well, Down to Honduras, as I believe it is now called. I need to see my wrath._ A wry note crept into his tone. He knew Eros would be thinking the same thing.

_Okay, you are crazy. You will need to use an airplane. You can probably arrange the transport with your hotel manager. Knowing you, you are at the best of... wherever you are. Talk to them. Now if you will excuse me, I see a delightful couple, the girl needs some... convincing, though. Bye!_ Poseidon chuckled as he dropped his hand from his medallion. Eros was something.

***

Hali stooped over, filling the air tanks with oxygen. She was surprised at how many people at the resort actually were interested in scuba diving. Her father was doing a number of classes and lessons today, and so she was doing the small boring part of the job. Filling tanks, putting stock up in the little store, and helping tanned rich people find the most attractive equipment for them.

Inside she laughed. Scuba diving was not something that you did to look good. However, he had promised that she could go out on the boat by herself tonight. She wanted to see the ship again, take a few more pictures. She looked down at her hand.

The ring... she had put it on her middle finger. It fit perfectly between her knuckles, and she had gotten a lot of attention from it. Most people assumed that it was not real, due to the metal being a blue. But Hali knew it was real. Fake anything would not have held up underwater. The smile slid off her face. She couldn't get it off. She had tried. The ring fit comfortably on her finger, not too tight, not too loose. It would seem like it would be able to easily slide off. However, whenever she tried to get it off, it seemed to tighten. Impossible, but there it was. She had used soap and water; put her hand in ice cold water to shrink her finger, anything she could think off, but the ring would not come off.

Right now it was not a problem, but he glove would never fit comfortably over it. She wrinkled her nose, and then pasted a smile back on her face. Another customer, looking for a snorkel, mask and fins, to go snorkeling, probably. Turning around, she gasped.


	7. Chapter 7

Standing in the door way was a gorgeous woman. She had red gold curls tumbling down a pale but exquisite face. At least 5'8", she was dressed in a white flowing gown that reached down to the floor, with a gold rope type ribbon going around her shoulders, crossed between her breasts and wrapped around her waist. The most surprising thing, however, was the quiver of arrows on her back, and the bow at her waist.

"Wh.. What can I do for you?" Hali stumbled; shocked to see anyone dressed like that around here.

"I am looking for my cousin, Poseidon. Have you seen him?" The woman spoke in a melodious tone, although her face was pulled into one of concern. Something was bothering this woman. Or she was acting.

"Poseidon... as in the Greek god?" Hali smiled at that. "No, I am afraid no one with that name or wearing a costume like you are has passed through here." There must be a theme up at the resort. Hali had heard that there was frequently days where the hotel would provide some type of entertainment. This must be one of them. Hali laughed a little inside.

The woman, however, was not amused. "I must find him. If you see him, tell him that Artemis was looking for him. Could you do that please?" Artemis, if that was her stage name, it was the only one Hali had, walked around the shop briefly, apparently looking for her cousin.

"Sure thing, I will-" The door opened once more and Jace walked in.

"Hail, Dad is almost done, so you can..." Jace trailed off, his eyes widened as he looked at the beautiful woman, and he gave her a quick once over. Hali gave a small smirk. They looked about the same age... and "Artemis" had given her brother the same attracted glance.

"Jace, this is Artemis... why don't you help her look for her cousin, Poseidon. I will go see what Dad wants." Hali walked towards the door, smiling. Once she strode by her brother, he caught her arm, and looked down at her warningly.

"Go for it! She is pretty, and interested in you!" Hali whispered up at him. Jace, quirking an eyebrow, looked over at the lovely woman, who had a blush staining her cheeks, and was looking everywhere except him. Jace looked back down at her and gave a wicked smile. He brushed a kiss across her forehead, and then pushed her towards the door.

Hali laughed silently. Oh, her brother was a rouge alright! The last thing she heard from the two as the door closed was Jace introducing himself, and asking what Poseidon looked like.

Hali slowed the boat to a stop and checked the GPS. Yes, this is where Poseidon's Fury lay. Anchoring the boat and putting on the gear, Hali rolled into the water, making sure that all of her gear was in place. While swimming, Hali reviewed what had happened this afternoon. Turning on her flashlight, Hali laughed as best as she could with a regulator in her mouth.

Artemis and Jace had hit it off perfectly. Jace told her he believed that her name really was Artemis... and that they had not found a Poseidon, or any other god, in the premises. Apparently she was a party of one... with the costume. Artemis had stopped looking so hard for her cousin, and had taught Jace a bit of archery. He was not very good at it, but then again, it was the first time he had done it.

Hali started back to reality with the sight of fish. Fish? There weren't any last time. What is going on? Paying more attention to what she saw around her, she took in the remains of the boat.

Fish, many different types, darted in amongst the hull and its holes. Seaweed grew from any available pocket, and the wood of the boat had a dark green slime all over it. Hali was approaching from the back, so she was able to see the Greek letters etched into the back. Or, she would have seen them, if there had been anything to see. Barnacles now covered most of the area, and bright white and purple anemones swayed with the gentle current. Moving around once more, Hali looked at where the mast should have been. There was barely anything left. One had rolled farther away, covered in barnacles and other sea life.

Hali shook her head in disbelief and denial. How could all of this transaction happen in one day? It took at least a year for this much activity to begin at wreak sight. The wood was rotting away, and yet yesterday it was pristine. Hali swam up to the wheel. It was stuck, clogged with debris and seaweed. The sand had smoothed away the little designs in the handles.

Hali started for the figure head. If the sand had erased that too, it would be a great loss. The craftsmanship had been beautiful.

***

It was gone. Poseidon treaded water, staring at Lotus, or more to the point, at the finger where the ring used to lay. Poseidon had known something was wrong when he had dived down to the ship. Life was wandering around... which the ring should have repulsed. He had prayed that that was not the case. If that ring fell into the hands of a criminal, or a genius... serious consequences could result.

Olympus was not the only thing enshrouded by magic. Atlantis, El Dorado, mystical caves, the hiding places of the sacred chalice, sword, stone and book, Hades, portals to other places, the list went on and on. If someone with the ring stumbled across one of those places, the ring would allow the person to see them. All chaos could break through.

Poseidon looked once more at the ring, and then up at the beautiful, smirking face. His face tightening in anger, Poseidon headed towards the surface. He had to tell Zeus, and arrange a meeting. The gods would have to put up more wards and-

Poseidon stopped and grabbed his throat. He couldn't breathe anymore.

Hali stopped short of the figure head. Before her was a man, an incredibly stupid one! He had no regulator, and he was swimming for the surface, but he wouldn't make it. Quickly swimming up to where the man was making desperate strokes up to the surface, but slowing rapidly because of lack of oxygen, she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. How he could even stand to be in this temperature water without a dry suit on, she was not sure.

The man started to thrash around in her hold. Why he thought she was a threat, she didn't know. Hali shut down all of her extra thoughts, and focus totally on saving this stupid man.

He turned around in her grasp, his eyes narrowing in surprise and desperation. He brought his hands up to defend himself, but Hali was already pissed off, and did not want to deal with his crap. She grabbed her emergency regulator and shoved it into his mouth.

The man, whose eyes were rapidly losing focus, spit it out. Hali, almost screaming in frustration, shoved it back in. By this time, his eyes were closed and he had to take a breath. Fully expecting to die, his lungs full of water, the man took a breath, and his eyes snapped open.

Hali, happy that he was alive but extremely pissed off at his stupidity, slowly started rising to the surface. The man appeared totally exhausted, his eyes once more closing, although she knew he was conscious. He helped her kick and kept breathing. Apparently he no longer though that she was trying to kill him. Growling to herself, she steered them up, taking into account the time to let their bodies adjust, she recalled that she hadn't seen the figure head. She let out her breath in a long stream of bubbles. What a freaking idiot! Once they were at the surface, she was going to kill him!


	8. Chapter 8

"What the hell where you thinking!" Hali broke surface, shouting. "Not only where you way below a safe zone, your little sprint for the surface would have given you bends! And, as I see that... you, ah, you have no boat and there is no land in miles, you would have died out here, the nitrogen poisoning your blood. What were you thinking?"

Poseidon watched her, more amused by the tirade than upset. For a moment he almost forgot about his near death experience. For a moment. The funny looking woman in front of him was shouting about things that he raised his eyebrow at. Nitrogen poisoning? It was the first he had ever heard about it, and he 'sprinted for the surface' all the time.

"And, I hear no thank you for saving your life! Now, I suppose that I have to get you to a doctor to see if you are in trouble. The time we spent at the safety stop should asure us that you will be fine, but even then, it would be impossible to tell if you are in danger, as you don't have a computer, do you?"

Hali was now swimming towards her boat, leaving the man to follow her at his leisure. She did not turn around; her anger would slip away into a quite awe. The man was hott... and ripped! Even her brother was just a regular person after this guy. Muscular arms had kept his perfectly featured face up above the surface, and when she has looked at him the first time, she actually lost her train of thought. Shaking her head in fury and disgust at herself, she swam harder.

Her unaccounted attraction to the stupid idiot made her anger push to the forefront. But of course he would be hott... here she was acting like a shrew... but she couldn't stop. It just made her angrier, and she put her regulator back in her mouth to keep herself from saying anything.

Poseidon swam behind the woman. She was interesting. Definitely more interesting than the cool New York women. She was more like Psyche: had emotions and a personality. Although, for all he knew, she was about 40 years old and was married. The contraption she was wearing was very covering, revealing little about the woman underneath. When she had first come upon him, he had lashed out, not understanding the thing that was wrapped around his waist. He had thought it was some sort of squid. Only, squids did not breathe bubbles... or have hard bodies. There were a number of gadgets that had dug into his back. And the thing she had tried to shove in his mouth... way different than anything he had ever experienced.

Hali reached the back of the boat and flipped down the swimmers ladder. Slipping off her fins, she climbed back onto the back of the boat. When the man just sat there treading water, she pulled off her mask and gestured for him to follow. He climbed out of the water, rivulets streaming down his chest and arms, and his swim shorts were plastered against his thighs and other... more interesting parts. Hali's eyes widened and she spun around the best she could with 25 pounds of weight plus gear on.

Shaking off her blush as best she could, she sat on the back seat and unclipped her BC and weight belt, and let them sit there. She took deep even breaths to try to calm the rapid beat of her heart. She was shocked at herself. Growing up around water, she had seen plenty of well-toned chests... but something about this man had her very attracted.

Poseidon slipped into the back seat, next to the contraption that had been on the woman's back. He shivered slightly, a wind blowing enough to cool the water on his skin. Furrowing his brow, Poseidon thought about what had happened. He had not been able to breathe under there... and he did not know why. Unless someone close by had put on the ring, then there would be no way for the magic to work. If the ring was lying on the ocean floor somewhere, it wouldn't do anything. Perhaps...

A towel hit him in the face, abruptly bringing him out of his thoughts. Looking up in surprise, he saw that the woman was peeling herself out of a black suit of some sort. Water streamed off of her back, as she worked to reveal a pair of smooth slightly tanned shoulders. Her hair was a dark brown when wet, made into a braid that fell to under her shoulder blades. Tendrils escaped and curled slightly. Her back was pretty much bare, except for a small yellow strand going right through the middle.

Poseidon could barely breathe. Her skin was a creamy golden color all in one... and there was so much of it. He almost groaned when she worked the suit off of her hips and down her legs, where she stepped on one side and then the other to get it off her feet. She had a small butt, cupped in a bright yellow suit and long, strong legs. And, unfortunately and fortunately, whenever she stepped down, the yellow swayed in front of his eyes, making him dizzy and his stomach tighten. Poseidon gulped down a breath. 

Hali got out of her suit as quickly as possible, wanting to be out of the man's gaze. And it was almost to sunset, and she had planned on staying out for a while longer. But she really did not want to stay out in the dark with a man she did not know. For all she knew he was a murderer. He was, at the least, insane to pull a stunt like the one he had. Hali wrapped a towel around her waist, and looked around for her shirt.

Hali's gaze, however, got stuck on the man's handsome face. Her eyes widening, she took in his expression. Hunger... and not for food. His heated gaze swept over her face and down her body. She had heard of people being able to feel another's eyes on them, but she had never understood. Now she did. It was heat, where ever he looked. Unconsciously she clenched her stomach, and folded her arms over her breasts.

Poseidon drank in her appearance. She was quite pretty, and she was not even looking her best. He knew that once she was cleaned up, she would be beautiful. She had elegantly arched brows over incredibly long lashes. Her eye color seemed to be hazel, grey, green, and blue all mixed together. Poseidon longed to step closer to see what color they really were. His eyes swept over her cheeks that where rosy with high cheekbones and, he smiled lightly, creased slightly from the contraption she had had over her eyes. And her mouth... nicely curved upper lip and a wonderfully lush bottom lip, which appeared to be slightly swollen.

His slow gaze traveled down her neck, which was the same combination of cream and gold as the rest of her skin. His gaze stopped at the pulse pounding at the base of her throat, and then traveled across her collar bones. Looking closer he saw a number of white scars in a variety of shapes and sizes. However, he dropped his eyes to where the yellow fabric barely covered and yet concealed her breasts. Yes... his breathing was pretty erratic now. They were not very large... but they would fit perfectly into his hands... and his thoughts were not exactly something he would like to show.

Again moving his gaze along, he came to her waist. It dipped in and then flared out to her hips. The towel around her hips stopped his gaze from going farther, but he got caught on a little mole about an inch from the top of the yellow fabric on the left side.

Hali stood there stunned. Sure, she had had a few boyfriends, and a couple of guys who were interested in her... but she had never felt like anyone was as attracted to her as this complete stranger. She knew that she was not the most beautiful person in the world, but she was content with how she looked. She was in shape from swimming, and she covered herself up enough to not really worry about what people say. She spent her time with fish... and they ran away weather you were beautiful or ugly. So, she was surprised at her own feeling of beauty. He made her feel pretty. The incredibly hott man made her feel desirable.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she grabbed her shirt from beside him and turned around to put it on. Not looking back at him, she quickly went down to the cabin and pulled out a few sweat shirts, for him and for herself. It would be best to cover up as much of his golden skin as possible... and put some protection over her own. Who knew what he might do... never mind her unreasonable desire to jump the man and lick his gorgeous skin!


	9. Chapter 9

Hali glanced up at the sky, her forehead wrinkling. What had started out as a gorgeous day was now turning threatening. The blue sky was clouded over with grey and black clouds, and a heavy wind was kicking up some nice sized white caps. Hali had thought that they might make it back to the resort before the rain, but now she had to slow down so that she would not launch the boat too much. And it was getting cold.

Pulling the throttle down to a stop, she turned away from the wheel and went below into the cabin. Trying to ignore the man was ridiculous, but she felt exposed and a little shy, so she just didn't look at him. At least not straight on. She was ashamed to admit that she had stolen more than one glance at him from under her lashes.

Hali gritted her teeth at her own stupidity, and went to work pulling out cross beams and plastic coverings. The clouds would be dropping rain at any point in time, and she was not going to be responsible for heat drying the boat. She tossed all of the equipment up onto the deck and climbed out.

"Umm... I am sorry I don't know your name, but we need to get these up before we get drenched in fresh water, instead of salt." Hali finally looked at him, sort of. Her gaze was somewhere in between his eyes, instead of into them.

The man raised an eyebrow. "My name is Poseidon. And if you just drop me off, I will make my own way back... home." He stood up, and moved towards the ladder.

"What?! No way, are you insane! I can't leave you out in a storm, you will drown! There is no land around here for miles!" Hali's gaze flew to his eyes as he turned around. He looked deadly serious, no wry joke, or a bad one. She could usually tell when her father or her brother was making a joke, but this man's face was serious.

"I am perfectly sane, thank you. And I know how to whether out a storm. I.. uh... have had lots of practice." For a moment, panic flashed over his face, before the mask fell back into place. Turning around once more, he started to step over the back seat.

Hali rushed forewarned and grabbed his arm. "Wait! I can take you wherever you..."

The man looked down at the hand on his arm, and his eyes shot up to hers. Anger, astonishment, confusion, a myriad of emotions flashed through. "Where did you get that ring?" His voice was hard and unyielding. He looked almost dangerous, the chiseled planes of his face going hard and a gleam came to his eyes.

Hali quickly dropped her hand and backed away. "I uh... I found it! I didn't steal it if that is what you think! It was just there, and so I took it. I am not even sure it is real! I mean, why shouldn't I have taken it..." Hali shut her mouth when she realized she was babbling. She didn't have to explain anything to him! Who did he think he was, anyways? He seemed to have escaped from a mental hospital. She stuck her chin up. She was not scared by him. Her defiant pose was ruined, however, when a particularly large wave rocked the boat, and she stumbled, regaining her balance with a blush. The man had barely moved, and now his angry expression was replaced with one of amusement. Hali wrinkled up her nose and turned away from him, back to the beams.

"It doesn't matter. No, I can't let you off right here. I am sorry if that is what you would like, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself. So help me put these up, and then we can be off." Hali turned away and bent down to pick the first one up.

Behind her, Poseidon sorted out his thoughts. She had the ring... she had the Ring! It made more sense now, and he knew how to get his powers back! The only problem was, he didn't know how far away she had to be for the ring to break its hold on him. Perhaps the reason he was feeling more human was because the ring was now being worn. It would make sense, as used to feel a slight drain of power when Lotus had worn the ring. She hadn't worn it long... and no one since had worn it, so he had mostly forgot about the feelings. Or he had deliberately pushed it out of his mind.

The woman looked over her shoulder at him, raising her eyebrow. "Could you put the other side in?" She spoke slowly, with a hint of anger, as if talking to a mentally challenged person. Rolling her eyebrows slightly, she turned back to her work.

Poseidon laughed silently. Oh she was a handful! A very pretty handful, too. She had a personality, and she was opinionated. She did not seem like the type of person who would say one thing to you, and then go underhand to get what she wanted. She would probably tell a person directly what she wanted. In fact, she reminded him, a little bit, of Psyche. This time, Poseidon smiled. He liked her. Whoever she was.

Her name...

"What is your name?" He moved to the other side of the boat and grabbed the bar, looking at the mechanism and then fixed it to the metal post. She shot him a quick glance, and then tossed a glass square at him.

Poseidon panicked. A glass square that big would be heavy, and he wouldn't be able to catch it! He jumped back, knocking himself into the side of the boat, and closed his eyes, waiting to hear the shattering of glass.

And waited.

Finally he opened his eyes, looking straight into the astonished face of the woman. Confused, he shot his gaze down to where there should have been shards of glass. Instead, the glass was folded in half, crumpled and flexible. Heat crept up his neck and cheeks. Whatever it was, it was not glass.

"Uhh... ahe... sorry..." He reached down and gingerly picked up the square. It wasn't glass. Indeed, the only thing about it that seemed like glass was that it was clear. The material was flexible and thin, and there were half of snaps along the edges.

Poseidon shot his glance over to the woman. She was still watching him with a confused and nervous sort of look on her face. Poseidon could well imagine what she thought. He tried to look like he knew what he was doing. Looking slightly past her shoulder, he could see another square, snapped half way on. Ahh, so that is what he was supposed to do.

"Hali. Hali Nelson." Poseidon's gaze went back to hers, surprised.

"Greek, meaning of the sea." Something like respect and surprise changed her features. He smiled slightly. He liked it when she wasn't thinking him an idiot.

"Yes... how did you know that? I had to look it up! And, I am sorry, what type of name is Poseidon. I wouldn't think any parent would dare name their child that! An old bearded fellow with a temper! Sorry, it is just really strange!"

Amend that, she could be dashed annoying. Old bearded fellow indeed! He only used that guise a few times, when it had suited him to look old. Did she even know how trying it used to be? Women used to throw themselves into the ocean, hoping to be saved by the handsome king of the sea who would take them to his magnificent palace and, ahem, _entertain_ them for a while. Sure, he had a wild youth, but he outgrew that. So, he changed his appearance, made a few calls to the mortal realm, and voila, only old grubby sailors fell into the sea. Only very few people drown in the sea. Poseidon or his helpers the dolphins, usually found them in time, and took the back home. Now a days, though, they took them to a shrouded area. It would not do for the current people to know too much about the gods. They would only abuse the knowledge.

Shaking his thoughts back to the present, he answered her insulting question. "I am Greek, and I am very proud of my name, thank you. It is a strong, proud name. And besides, do you think that the mor... ah... that we would know everything about the gods? I bet they only told us what they wanted us to know. And on top of that, haven't you ever heard the expression 'Handsome as a Greek god'? I am satisfied, thank you!" So saying, he turned away, and started to snap the glass that wasn't glass into place.

Well, as well as someone who had never snapped anything. Eventually, Hali came over and took it from him.


	10. Chapter 10

Hali narrowed her eyes at the windshield, desperately trying to decipher anything from the pouring rain and misty waters. They should be getting close. Poseidon sat next to her, alternating humming and whistling a tuneless song, tapping his fingers along the glass. She snuck a glance at him, again.

His hair, encrusted with dried salt, sticking up in random places and all together ruffled. Despite the almost endearing quality of his hair, he looked cool and collected. The sweatshirt that she had given him stretched across his broad shoulders and chest, making him seem more powerful. The idea that she had of covering him up so she wouldn't be so drawn to him had failed. The maroon color made his hair gleam brighter, and his eyes appeared... grey?

Snapping her gaze back to the furiously swishing, pathetically small, windshield wipers, Hali gazed into the grey haze. Hadn't his eyes been a brilliant blue with a tint of green? She had admired them because they had looked like the ocean...

An incessant beeping noise interrupted her thoughts. Hali grabbed the GPS on the counter and looked at it. Five minutes until they reach the island. Hali looked up, relief spreading across her features. Poseidon may look fine, but she was a wreak. The salt water stuck to her skin, making her skin feel sticking and unable to move well. The salt was also making her itch. However, she refused to do something so... uncool while He was around. And her hair. Hali shuddered slightly, her stiff hair moving against her neck. She had pulled it back into a low ponytail, and it had stiffened into waves over her ears.

Hali reached up quickly and pulled out the hair tie. Combing her fingers through the stiff waves, she pulled them as straight as they would go, and pulled it to the top of her head, and wrapped the tie around it once more. Sure, it wasn't fashion model level, little bits sticking up in loops and hanging at weird angles, but she felt better. Perhaps because she now felt prettier. Hali settled back down to driving, waiting to see the island emerge from the fog.

Six minutes later, she was still waiting. A beeping once again interrupted her perusal. Looking down at her GPS, Hali gave a start. According to the diagram, they were now running into land. Cursing silently underneath her breath, Hali looked around, again squinting into the storm. Nothing.

"Ah... do you see any islands... or any land at all?" Hali refused to look at him. She felt stupid at request... when obviously there was nothing around. Still... she had to say something!

Hali could still see him slightly from the corner of her eye. He moved his head back and forth... then looked at her, an eyebrow raised. Hali hastily added, "My GPS say that we should be on land by now... and there is nothing around. I have never known it to be wrong, but apparently we should be back. It is almost as if the island has disappeared... or moved... which is ridiculous!" Hali shut her mouth, a blush creeping up her checks, and she went back to looking.

Poseidon turned his head and looked at her. And then moved his gaze down to her ring. Something is not right... The ring has done something. Poseidon wracked his brain. Shifting to the side, with his face away from the woman, Poseidon let his emotions show. She had no need to see what he thought.

There was the link to the fairy realm, but the link in the mortal realm was located in Ireland... the Sword? Was it this far north? No... it was farther south... buried in the Bermuda Triangle. Poseidon let a small smug smile cross his face. That had been his invention, and it was highly effective. They had never needed to find another hiding spot for that particular artifact. Perhaps El Dorado... he knew that was an island. But no... wasn't it in the Pacific Ocean? What about...

Poseidon stopped his thoughts. It was true, huh. Well, what a shock. Poseidon almost groaned. And of course he wouldn't be able to stop all of this because she had the Ring. And the Ring had broken the covering and hiding spell, temporarily, allowing them to pass through its defenses. Just lovely.

Poseidon turned back around in his chair, waiting. Let's just hope that I can convince the people of who I am... And that they will ask questions first, and not later. But Poseidon knew it would be hard.

Hali looked up from her GPS once more. And a smile spread across her features. Finally! Land! She resisted the temptation to speed up, the boat already hopping over the white capped waves. Perhaps it was just her luck, but the storm seemed to grow stronger as it got towards shore. Hali didn't know enough about the weather down here to know for sure what it would do... but it just didn't seem like something that would normally happen.

Perhaps this island was one of the other Islands around. Roatan was the largest, but there were a number of smaller ones. Perhaps her GPS was completely wrong. There were a number of explanations. For tonight, they could spend it on this island, get some more gas... as it seemed that they would run out before they got back, and then she could head out in the morning. Poseidon could... do whatever the hell he wanted. She wasn't about to take him home with her, however! Jace wouldn't let her hear the end of it... number one. And number two... there wasn't a thing between them. Hali ignored wistfulness that passed through her at that thought.

More and more of the island appeared through the mist, although nothing was very clear. Hali could seem the shapes of some large, tall cylindrical buildings, and the very edge of the waterfront. There were a flurry of masts, so apparently this was the marina that they were heading to.

The closer they got to the storm washed ashore, the more Hali could make out. Hali slowed down as they passed some of the sail boats, making the entrance to the marine, but her concentration was focused elsewhere. There seemed to be theme colors to the city, blue, gold, and white. The cylindrical buildings had swirling patterns in gold on white marble like structures, with the windows surrounded in a blue trim. There were numerous other buildings, more like what you would see in a city. Condo type buildings with multiple levels of balconies, all done up with gold on white with a splash of refreshing blue. Hali hoped that tomorrow would bring sun, as this place would be spectacular with the rays bouncing off the gold and the white and blue making everything very bright and airy. The city must have a fantastic group of community workers though. Despite it being rainy and hard to see, it was obvious that the paint was kept up, nothing was chipping, and that it was kept clean, there were no dark spots where dirt or algae had taken up residence.

Hali slowed down even more... now taking in the marina. It appeared to be a traditional type of city, despite its wonder. There were a great number of sailboats... perhaps this was also the poorer part of the marina. There was probably a yacht club where all of the rich families kept their yachts and such. Despite being poorer, the boats where all kept up and in pretty good shape. There were fishing boats, cutters, regular pleasure boats, tug like ones, and a few large... war ships closer in on sturdy docks. A majority of the boats where done with blue hulls and gold swirls and patterns peeping above the water line and up the sides. Hali was thrilled.

What is this place? Still in a bit of a shock... Hali looked towards an open space, and headed towards it. Perhaps it was privately owned, but there did not appear to be any sign prohibiting people. Once she found the harbor masters headquarters, she could always move it.

Cutting the power almost all the way off and putting it in reverse, she moved the boat around and slid it backwards into the slip. Shutting off the power, Hali jumped off, grabbing a few buoys from beside the back seat. She was momentarily shocked when Poseidon hopped out as well. She had forgotten about him... apparently. Slipping the buoys on and tying the ropes, Hali still looked around. The rain was refreshing, washing away some of the salt in her hair and on her body, but she knew that she would want to get out of the rain. She wouldn't get cold, despite the fact that the sun was setting or almost set. IT was always so warm here. Hali hopped back on the boat and grabbed her scuba gear. It might be a nice city... but nice cities still had criminals. She stashed the gear and the GPS in the cabin and locked it, then locked the glove box, and hopped back off. It would be fine now.

Walking along the docks and up the ramp, Hali noticed for the first time the lack of people. No one was around. Sure it was raining, but normally there were a few cars going by, and a few brave souls armed with umbrellas walking along the streets. Or the noise from a rowdy bar or cafe sounding above the patter of rain. But there was nothing.

Reaching the street level, Hali looked around, trying to locate the Harbor masters office. Down the street, half on the pier and half over the water was an office like building. Heading off towards it at a fast walk, Hali only assumed that Poseidon followed her. She had too much dignity to turn around and look.

"What is your business in Atlantis, woman stranger?"

She did turn around, quite quickly too, when confronted with that question.

"ATLANTIS?!"


	11. Chapter 11

If someone had told Hali yesterday that she would come across an old mythical place, Hali would have just brushed it off as sheer rubbish. And she would have just laughed outright if they had told her that she would become a prisoner. However, Hali was not laughing now.

Nor was Poseidon. Their hands roped together behind them, spears spread out on all sides, they had been forced to march through the streets, in the pouring rain. Thankfully they had not tried to shackle their legs... cobblestone could get dashed slippery when raining.

The guards were resplendent with silver armor, blue clothing underneath it, and gold insignias showing rank and such. Hali knew nothing of what the military positions where in her... world, and she definitely didn't know in this one. She just was very much aware of their spears, some pointed at them to make them follow along, and others upright but capable of coming down at any second. Not to mention the wicked looking swords that where hung at their hips. Best just to follow what they say and hope that they didn't kill them.

She couldn't get her mind around this. She was supposedly in Atlantis? But it wasn't a real place, just something that people speculated about and tried to find, but never actually there. Hali had seen plenty of movies about Atlantis; some where it was a decaying city, others where there was only ruins. This city seemed to be thriving though, despite not having modern conveniences, like cars and telephones. Hali wouldn't have minded being in a car right then.

Hali felt miserable. She was hungry now, and she was drenched, from her sweatshirt and pants down to her swimsuit. Her hair was in her face, and she couldn't reach up to push it away. Somehow she had lost her hair tie. She almost groaned at that. How would she live without it? She hated it when her hair was in her eyes. And she doubted that there would be a supermarket just around the corner that had tons of small packages of thirty.

What did appear around the corner were shops. This street appeared to cater to all sorts of needs. First, there was a pottery store. An actual pottery store! In the front window, where there was no glass, just a mesh fabric of some sorts that caught the rain, but was still transparent, there where urns and dishes, from the extremely tall, almost tall enough for a person to stand in one, to the sort that you would put water in and pass around at meal times. The dishes ranged from crude flat, plaster, to ones that where delicately embossed with more blue swirls on white backgrounds.

The next appeared to be a milliners shop. Hali was admittedly not up on the different types of fabric... but there were only some that looked familiar, draped across different shapes in their front window. There appeared to be regular cotton, and heavy wool. However, there were also shimmering bolts of... something. It did not appear to be silk... it was too perfect in its luster and color. There were solids, such as bright blue and red, and there were some, shot one way with one color, and the opposite way with a different. This resulted in a very elegant shimmer, such as blue and white. Surprise there! Hali thought wryly. This town seemed to be fixed on those colors. Still, they were very lovely together.

The rest of the street was taken up with a multitude of other shops. There was a corsetieres, specializing in corsets, a plant market, a glove and slipper store, a library, apparently, a statuary store, and a furniture store, which worked in juncture with a larger furniture warehouse. Everywhere Hali was prodded was embossed with the swirls in multitudes of patterns. However, on the larger buildings how it seemed it was white with gold and blue on top, these smaller buildings where a variety of variations. Blue with white, gold with blue, and so on. Hali was getting a bit annoyed with all the colors though. She wanted something to eat, and someplace where she could dry off.

After an eternity of walking, Hali's lowered gaze connected with a flight of steps. Wearily, she brought her head up. And up. They were standing at the stone steps of a large and grand building. Long and white, it again followed the color scheme. However, this one was more grand and impressive than many of the others. There were no less than three domes, the largest on the middle of the roof, flanked by slightly smaller ones. A Sun was prominent on each one, its rays trickling down the sides. Long white columns came up to great a balcony that ran all the way around the second floor of the three story building. There were a multitude of windows, again appeared to be covered with the mesh, but most of the windows where shut over with blue shutters.

"Come on," The man behind her shoved her shoulder with the palm of his hand. Hali, her head still strained up and her back arched, pitched foreword and down. Hali scrambled to get her hands in front of her, but as they were tied behind her, she couldn't. She did manage to flip to her shoulder before she hit the ground. Unfortunately, her shoulder did not stop her head from hitting, either.

"You Bastard!" Poseidon surged forward, towards Hali. His anger warred with his concern, and concern won over the need to attack the guard. She wasn't moving, was she okay? He dropped down beside her, his teeth clenched. God damn it! His hands were clenched behind his back, sawing at the ropes, trying to get them undone.

"Well? Are you going to do anything? She is hurt! Untie me, and I promise not to escape!" Besides, Poseidon knew it would be futile to try and escape Atlantis without his powers. And as there was no way he would leave without Hali, he could promise that he would not be escaping.

The leader of the men came forward, pulling a small dirk out from where it was strapped to his thigh. He sliced through the ropes, then Hali's, put away the knife, and then turned to the man who had shoved Hali. "You should have known better Jason. You could have seen that she would fall. You are too hasty!" When the man Jason made to protest, the leader cut him off, "Silence! Your lack of regard for women has gotten you into trouble just one too many times. This will most assuredly be taken up with the commander..." Poseidon tuned them out.

Carefully rolling Hali over onto her back, Poseidon brushed the hair from her forehead away. A smallish cut was already surrounded by a purplish bruise. As gently as he could, he prodded the rest of her head, making sure there were no other places that were injured. Looking around for something to help with the bleeding, he was surprised to see a man kneel next to him. His armor clacked when he crouched down, but that even did not waken her.

"She might have a concussion. We need to keep her awake. Don't worry though; it will not leave her any lasting damage." The man next to him, who looked remarkably young and inexperienced, pulled a small kit out of his shoulder bag. From the kit the man produced swabs of a gauze-like substance. "Press this to her cut, gently but firmly. It will help stop the bleeding. And then when I tell you to, pull it away and I will put a dab of this," he pulled a small tin out, "on it."

Working together quietly, Poseidon pressed and then lifted, the man dropping a few beads of the green like substance onto the cut. "Thank you. What is your name?" Poseidon asked quietly. The angry words were still being aimed at the man who had pushed Hali.

"Rogan Lefield. And yes, I am a healer." The man flashed a quick smile at Poseidon. "The Lefield warrior healer." The smile quickly dropped off his face. "Oh, you wouldn't know about my family. Sorry."

Poseidon looked at him in confusion, but that was quickly lost as Hali opened her eyes and shifted. Her pupils were dilated, and she immediately brought her hand up to her forehead, to her cut. Her confused look changed to one of anger.

"Where is that bastard? I am going to ki..." Hali sat up, and then immediately slumped back down. Poseidon laughed slightly, gathered her up in his arms, and stood up.

"She has a concussion, but just don't let her sleep for more than an hour without twenty minutes break in between them." Nodding his head, Poseidon looked down at Hali. She glanced at him, and then away. She was nestled quite well in his arms, and she did not weigh as much as she had first appeared. Not that he thought that she would be heavy, but she was not tiny.

When the soldiers once again got into formation and started up the steps, Poseidon thought he heard Hali mutter, "And of course he doesn't have any boogers. Shees." Boogers? Poseidon just shook it off.


	12. Chapter 12

Hali could not make out what was happening. Her eyes where wide open, trying to take far away objects into focus. It was like she had really bad eyesight and she hated it. The few things she could focus her gaze on was Poseidon. Or whatever she could see of Poseidon. Like his nose... and the booger free zone in it. She still could not believe that she said that. Still, it had popped out and thankfully he did not seem to understand that.

What she could also focus on was his jaw. It was square and strong, with slight stubble shading it now. Thinking back, Hali was certain that he had been completely clean shaven when she had rescued him. Meaning that at least that morning he had had access to a razor. She still did not know how he came to be in the middle of the ocean. Perhaps she would ask him when her brain wasn't so fuzzy. Things seemed to take a long time to process.

Such as they were now inside. Hal couldn't really see the walls, but she could tell they were white with blue fabric draped in wide swaths along them. Green blobs, which she assumed were plants, hung in midair. Perhaps they were suspended from the ceiling or they stood on a white pedestal. Whichever, the inside of the building seemed to be just as lavish and clean as the outside.

Poseidon squeezed his arms around her, which brought her eyes up to his now lowered, grayish blue ones. "How are you feeling?"

Hali puzzled over that comment for a second, and then felt stupid. Of course. How was she feeling... "I guess I am okay. I have never had a concussion before. Far away things are blurry, and even you are... although just a tiny bit. I seemed to have gotten better. My head hurts though." She closed her eyes and settled into his arms just a bit more.

"I am told that we are to greet the ruler of Atlantis. I don't know what they will do. They could be nice, or they could expect the worst, and therefore punish the worst. Please, just let me do the talking."

"Worst? What do you mean?" Hali's eyes opened once more, puzzled. He was looking forward again, presumably heading towards the ruler, a king or queen she did not know.

"We could possibly be a threat to them. We have obviously stumbled across something few people, if any, have. And so they will take whatever precautions they need to assure themselves that we will not harm them. If they do find us dangerous, they could have us killed." Hali tensed up, and saw that his jaw also clenched. Hali had not even considered that they would be killed. Sure, arrested. But killed?!

Poseidon carried Hali through the opulent double doors, which he presumed led to the throne room. The doors where too lavish and there were four guards flanking the doors. He and Hali had not said anything else since he revealed to her his fears. And since he did not have his powers, he very much feared that it would be very easy to just kill them. Perhaps...

"Hali, can you take off your ring?" He murmured sotto voice to her. The ring still would feel her and cast off some equalization, but perhaps he would have enough power to convince the ruler that he was the god Poseidon.

"Hmm?" She puzzled over that question for a moment as well. He glanced down at her, worried. Surely she would be alright. He delays in processing things where making him nervous. "Oh, right. No, it won't come off." She shut her mouth once more, still tense and in her own thoughts.

"Your Highness, two prisoners for your inspection." Poseidon raised his head up to meet the rulers gaze.

A hauntingly beautiful woman gazed back, her eyes cool and impartial, although he could see a slight gleam of appreciation. Having seen the gaze more than a few times in New York, Poseidon was instantly on edge with her. She would be a woman who took what she wanted. Perhaps, however, she was a fair ruler. The town seemed to prosper, and a tyrant would not have spent such time and money on making the town look good. They would develop their armies instead.

Her hair was the palest blond, swept back and piled high on her head in little ringlets. A small circlet rested on top, nothing monstrous or ugly, it was simplistic, but Poseidon could see clear gems encrusted into it. The same gems hung from her ears and encircled her throat, slim and reflecting her pale skin to perfection. Poseidon did not know how tall she was, she was sitting on a slight dais in an elaborately carved chair made of some pale peachy brown wood, a woodworkers dream. The chair was not painted; nothing was put into it, which could have bespoke of the poor wealth of the country. However, everything about this place spoke of wealth.

Her features where perfect, as expected of the queen. Sweeping eyebrows and sharp, shrewd eyes, a patrician nose and a dignified mouth. Hali's is more kissable... Poseidon thought with a quick flash of humor.

"Tell me," the queen finally spoke, her tone even and light, although there was a thread of steel underneath, a note that she was to be obeyed. "How is it that you came to Atlantis?"

"Your Majesty, we arrived on a boat." Poseidon did not know much about the type of boat they had been on, and so stuck with the barest truth he could muster. The queen raised one eyebrow.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Poseidon, and this is my... wife Hali. We were on our way home, got lost and found ourselves here." Hali had tried to say something. But Poseidon gave her a squeeze and a sotto voice "I will explain in time" before resuming his response.

"Very well and how is it that you have knowledge of the Greek language?"

Poseidon froze, and Hali tensed up in his arms, giving a small groan. He was speaking in ancient Greek? Of course he knew how to speak it, it was his native language. He just had lapsed into speaking it without thought, and that was dangerous. But Hali? Poseidon supposed it was the ring... it did have some strong powers, just not much... but how would he explain that to Hali? How would he explain that he naturally knew ancient Greek, it was the language that he grew up with...

"I-I suppose that the magic of this place... or something. I don't rightly know."

The queen's lips thinned for a moment, and then her face became a blank mask again. "Very well. You shall be placed a suite under guard. You shall not be able to move anywhere without a guard and to no place outside of the palace. I will meet with the day guards who caught you and find out what I can from then. We will meet again until I determine what is to be done with you." Here she turned away from Poseidon, and faced the captain of the guard. "Place them in the teal prison room. And see that they have a medical examiner attend to them. Dismissed."

Poseidon's arms where starting to tire, he wanted a change of clothes, and he was relieved that he and Hali would have some time to confer about their case. And Hali had drifted off, and he knew that he would not allow her to sleep more than an hour at a time, but he had no way of knowing how the time passed. Once they were in a steady place, he could let her rest.

Taking a deep breath, he hitched her closer and higher on his chest. Mumbling slightly, Hali pressed herself against him, and squeezed her arm around his neck tighter. Smiling slightly, Poseidon walked after the guards towards the teal room.


	13. Chapter 13

Jace sat in the bright sun, his brow furrowed and his hair mused. Hali had been missing since the night before, and he felt helpless. He wanted to do something! Search for her somehow. But there was nothing he could do.

She had gone out with a boat, a GPS and a map. She most likely wouldn't get lost... and he didn't think that she would be stupid enough to try and scuba dive over her air supply and drown. Even if she did drown, at least there would be the boat. The coast guard down here was not exactly excellent, but they had done a cursory search. If she did not show up by tonight, they would do a more extensive one. But Jace wanted her back now.

Shifting more on the uncomfortable rock, he splayed his feet out so that they were lapped by the ocean. He and Hali used to sit here... not that it had become a routine or anything, they had only just got here, but it was more of a reminder of her than pretty much anyplace else.

"Here, I brought you some lemonade." The softly voiced words came towards him, distracting him for a brief moment. Artemis. Jace gave her a small smile. She really was beautiful. Her long red hair curled and tumbled alongside her face and down her back. Her vibrant green eyes that tilted up at the corners. She didn't have as long of eyelashes as Hali did, but they beautiful to him anyways. And the thing that Jace most liked about here was her strength. He was not a small man, and he was always afraid of hurting some of the small, delicate ladies. But he knew Artemis could hold her own against him. Yesterday, she had taught him how to shoot arrows, and the flexing of her arms told him how proficient she was, long before he saw the bulls-eye full of tips.

He scooted over and motioned for her to sit down. She did, immediately, scooting closer to him until they touched, side to side. Like sweethearts. Jace felt his chest tighten. No one had done that with him. Just wanted to touch him, just know that he was there.

Taking one of the classes from her capable hand, he traced the condensation down the side. A large wave came up and swept over the rock they were sitting on. Jace couldn't care less... but he was surprised when Artemis showed the same attitude. She just stayed there, taking a small sip from the lemonade. She caught his gaze, her green eyes showed her concern. He loved that she was concerned. For him, he knew, mostly, but also for Hali. She had only spoken a few words with Hali, and yet... well, frankly he did not understand girls all that well. The 'clicked', he guessed. Whichever.

Jace clenched his jaw and ran a hand through his already tousled chocolate hair. And sighed. And fidgeted. "God!" he finally burst out, his baritone voice loud in frustration. "Isn't there something I can do? I can't just sit here in comfort. I mean, I should be doing something. But this seems to be the only thing I can do!" Taking care not to spill the lemonade, Jace stood up, balancing precariously on two barnacle covered rocks, running his free hand through his hair again.

"I know. Jace, I know!" Artemis stood up, following him onto the beach, his agitation making his limp more pronounced. It was a perfect day, the large number of people on the beach giving testimony to the people's pleasure in the sun. All it did was make Jace angry. If Hali had been here, they would have gone swimming, or scuba diving, or boating. He wouldn't be standing here, staring out to the horizon, hoping to see a relatively small boat magically appear on the horizon.

Artemis watched, his hands clenched his stature rigid. She put down her glass and slowly walked up beside and behind him. Taking his glass and embedding it the sand, she stood behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, nuzzling her cheek against his white cotton shirt. She was not sure what to do. She hadn't had a real relationship with a man in... centuries. She had never really thought that she would get to have a relationship with any man... so she had barely let herself dream. Despite her firm demands in not thinking about it, there was little else to do when you were a sort of exiled god. And so she had thought.

She had supposed that she had always a man who made her comfortable, who made her laugh. Who was chatty and bright and golden and perfect. And then she met Jace.

He was dark, nothing like most of her strange family. Not just in looks, but in mannerisms. He was more brooding, although he was not in a bad mood. He was... smoldering. While she was a flame, bright and so obviously there. And she knew she wasn't perfect, although many mortals would believe that gods would be. Perhaps living so many years with a slow and steady drainage of powers made them more like humans than they thought. Looking back on history, Artemis saw herself completely different than now. She would have once mocked and condoned Jace, because of his limp. Despite the fact that he was so blatantly beautiful in the dark sort of way. His limp did nothing to offset her, and it did not draw her either. She was not one of those people who felt the need to have herself surrounded by people who made them look better. No... Jace was.

Closing her eyes, Artemis rubbed her head against his shoulder, breathing in his spicy, male scent. Something uniquely Jace. She felt him relax slightly, and he brought his hands up to cover hers, linking palms together.

"Do you know I have a twin? Apollo," Artemis smiled slightly when she felt a small huff rumble through his chest. "He used to give me such grief. Our relationship is a lot like yours and Hali's, actually. You would admit that you loved each other, but only rarely. Most of the time you would get into scrapes and arguments, playing pranks on one another. Luckily for you, you have a marvelous father, who supports you so very well, and understands your way of showing affection. My family barely understands each other. Sure, we all love each other... most of the time, but there is always someone who is mad at someone else. You all stick together, bringing yourself together which makes you safe and connected. Only Apollo and I bonded like that. We knew some of the best hiding places, always knew where to hide ourselves. I used to worry about him, just like you are now worrying about Hali. Fortunately, I knew for the most part if he was in any serious trouble."

Artemis disentangled her arms from around her waist and moved so that she was standing before him. "What does your gut tell you? Do you think that she is hurt? Listen to yourself."

"I thought only twins have this bonding phenomenon. I am technically not even her brother. We don't share blood in any way." His brow furrowed, her reached out once more, taking Artemis into his arms and tucking her close to his chest. He needed to hold something.

"Oh, don't be such a boy!" Artemis's peeved tone made him smile for a moment. "If you are close to anyone, your nature knows theirs. It is not as if you have never met the woman before. You have spent your whole life with her! Think like her! There is nothing that she could not handle. I only spoke with her slightly, and she was definitely capable of dealing with practically anything. So trust yourself. How do you think she is?"

Jace thought over Artemis's words. Hali was capable. She was smart, knew what she would need to do in any situation. She wouldn't run out of air, she wouldn't get deco. She knew how to drive that little boat much better than he did. There had been no storms, no pirates reported around. He couldn't think of anything that would have been able to take both her and the boat.

And when her really concentrated on his body, he didn't feel any sense of doom, and foreboding. He felt natural worry, like when he had to go get stitches the first time. Sure, he was scared, although he didn't admit it, but he knew that he wouldn't die from them. He had been fine. She would be fine.

Artemis could tell Jace was thinking about it. She also knew when he found what he was looking for. He relaxed. He took a giant breath and most of the muscles in his body loosened, unclenching and steadying.

"Good! Now that you have done that, why don't we finish our lemonade?" Artemis went over and picked them up, handing on to him. His brown eyes bored into hers, that undistinguishable look. He clinked their glasses together. He was not talking, but he was calmer. Artemis took a breath and a sip. Perhaps she could teach him some of the finer tricks in archery. Or maybe he could teach her to scuba dive. Whichever, she planned on enjoying the rest of the day to the best of her ability.


	14. Chapter 14

The blue prison room was not what Poseidon expected. Okay, when someone directs you to a teal room, you look for a room that is done with teal tones and teal furniture, and even occasionally teal carpets. So, when the guards unlocked a plain wooden door with a gold plaque on which was stated Teal Room, Poseidon knew what to expect.

Until he carried Hali into a room done completely in yellows. And he did not see a single thing in teal.

And as for being a prison, Poseidon didn't know anyone who would mind to have a room such as this. It reminded him of the hotel he stayed at in New York. Three rooms, a commons, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Sprinkled practically everywhere where the little designs prominent through the city. Although Poseidon had not been to Atlantis since before the gods chose to hide it, he could tell that the standards of living had improved.

Although Atlantis had always been one of those places that everyone wants to be. It had always been where the rich people went, to take a vacation or to live. Fortunately for Atlantis, the government system was a bit more sophisticated that most other countries. If someone wanted to rule, there were a number of tests they must pass. Knowledge and logic were highly prized, which led to increasingly smart rulers, as people competed against each other. It was discovered very early on that just because you were born in a family, it did not make you a great leader.

Another thing that the rulers learned very early on was that an impressive city encouraged more growth, more money, and more renown. Therefore, Atlantis's civic buildings where the grandest, and its houses were mansions for the rich or very nice townhouses for those who did not want to pay for mansions or who did not ones so large. Streets where done in cobble and regularly replaced. The painting of every building was regulated by a large group of people working for the government. Education was mandatory until the 12th year, and then strongly encouraged for perhaps 6 more.

There were no slums in Atlantis. No places where unsavory characters hung out and made the city dangerous. People where genuinely nice, working to make things better. This made Atlantis the perfect place to be. It was also its downfall.

Many civilizations desired the island. And constant battles waged against. The Atlantean people became adept at using weapons, but there was only so much they could do, being an island nation. The battles grew, more and more people fought, until eventually the Atlantean's pleaded with the gods. They were tired of having loved ones die, and of being afraid of the next attack. They wanted to go back to living a life of education, of peace.

And the gods heard and granted their request. Although Poseidon remembered the debates that had gone on for ages.

The gods could not just give Atlantis their protection. Other civilizations would become jealous and damage the gods' powers with their anger. And if Atlantis where to simply disappear, there would be too much talk.

Finally it had been decided that they would move the island, and protect it through a shield. Zeus talked with the current ruler, telling of the plans and informing the King of what would happen.

And so, one day, Atlantis sank beneath the sea, great waves covering and consuming.

Or, that is what everyone thought. Poseidon had made the waves froth and foam, careening over the civilization and making it appear that it was being torn apart. However, the other gods where creating a dome, capped over the island, protecting it from the waves. And then they had moved it. To where it rested today, safe within the confines of a shield of protection which could not be broken unless the gods dropped them.

Poseidon shook himself out of the past, reminding himself of what needed to be done. He walked through a door, stepping into the bedroom and placed Hali on the bed. He stepped back slightly and watched her. She slept still, her breathing deep and peaceful. He could give her a little more time until he had to wake her up. The bump on her head was starting to turn a lovely bluish green. Whatever the man Rogan had put on her cut, it was working marvelously well, healing it over already. Poseidon doubted there would be a scar there.

Moving away from the bed, which was a sunny yellow with white pillows, Poseidon walked to the window. He quirked a brown and a slight smile touched his lips has he noticed there where bars on the windows. Just, not the typical bars. They where wrought into swirls and curly shapes, but they were still thick and embedded into the wall around it. So however much they embellished the room, it was still a prison cell, of sorts.

Poseidon had never been confined in any way. He had always known that he could use his powers to zap himself out at any time. When Lotus had had the ring, she had never trapped him, except when she had tried to kill him. But even then he had had the upper hand. Poseidon had heard about people hating prison, even committing suicide to be rid of it, but he had always thought those people weak. After all, sometimes they where only in prison for a few years. Years were nothing... to a god. Poseidon now realized how they felt.

If the Queen found Hali and him a threat, then their lives would not be worth much. And Poseidon did not have a way to stop it. Hali would certainly die, as she was a mortal, and Hades would just collect her soul. Poseidon was sure that even though he was mortal now, Hades wouldn't collect his. Ever since the incident with Lotus, Hades has had a much higher security over the souls, in case someone important slips in. The Fates also kept track of people who where to lead great lives. Of course, human choice altered a few things, but overall not many things happened that the Fates did not know about.

And the ring had been one of them.

The Ring! Poseidon snapped his attention away from the bars, and towards Hali, lying on the bed. She had turned over; the hand with the ring lay flat on the bed. Poseidon slowly and gently sat down on the bed, taking care not to wake her. Picking her hand up, he smoothed out her delicate fingers, clasped the ring between his thumb and forefinger, and gently tugged.

Nothing happened. The ring did not budge.

Scowling slightly, Poseidon twisted the ring back and forth. It slide around her finger easily, appearing to be loose enough for comfort. He tried to slide it over her knuckle, and again, once he started to pull down, the ring wouldn't move. Tightening his lips even more, he tried to twist it off. All that happened was the ring moved around her finger.

The ring wouldn't move off. It was as if it knew that its power would only remain if it stayed on.

Moving away from the bed, Poseidon crossed into the living room, shutting the door to the bedroom quietly. Crossing the plush carpet done in yellow and green, he sank down onto a sage green couch and spread out onto his back. He had not realized that he was so tired, but then again, he was not used to being mortal. Stretching his feet off the edge of the too small couch, he closed his eyes and settled deeper with in soft material.

He had almost fallen asleep when a brisk voice spoke.

"Poseidon?"


	15. Chapter 15

Poseidon shot up off the couch. What the...?

"Poseidon!" The voice returned, this time sounding slightly annoyed and aggravated, but there was also a hint of concern. "I know that you can hear me! Talk!"

"What? Who is it?" Poseidon turned around the room, looking for signs of anyone. Nothing. It was almost as if someone was god speaking to him, but he had no powers, they wouldn't be able to talk to him.

"Fine! Be that way. If you don't want to answer I am just coming to you! I hope you aren't doing anything... disgusting."

Poseidon's gaze flitted about, checking the corners of the yellow room. Who was going to show up? He couldn't tell, and he definitely hadn't been able to reply back. He hoped that it wasn't anyone who could cause harm. Hali wouldn't be able to protect herself right now.

Hali! What if the person arrived in her room? While she was sleeping. And what if they were dangerous! Poseidon started towards the door, dodging a few well stuffed chairs and elegant tables. Half way to the door, though, the person appeared.

"Artemis?" There she stood, her traditional white garb traded in for an airy white summer dress. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and she had sunglasses perched on her nose. If he hadn't seen her almost every day for a few centuries, he almost wouldn't have recognized her.

Artemis pulled the sunglasses off her nose and glared at him. "Why did you ignore me? It wasn't as if I was being too terribly rude! And why are you in Atlantis?" Looking around the furnishings, her brows drew together when she noticed the wrought iron on the windows. "And in a prison cell?"

She turned back to him, one eyebrow raised. Poseidon supposed she meant to look imperious, but instead she looked like a young, radiant woman. Something about her changed. She didn't seem as jaded as she used to be. Ever since the fiasco with Orion, she had drawn into herself, sneered instead of laughed. She hadn't been cruel, exactly, just not the most nice person.

But today, she seemed different. She was barefoot, as usual, but her toenails where painted a shimmery pink. The white dress was flattering and form fitting. Her usually emotionless face shone with exasperation, questioning, and some deeper emotion. Poseidon expected it was happiness.

"What happened to you, I should ask. You look good!" Poseidon strode over to her and wrapped her into a hug. Dropping a quick kiss on her forehead, he pulled back and held her at arm's length. "Okay, spill your secrets, little niece of mine. What is the problem?"

"Well... I, uh, met someone." Artemis blushed profusely, although it was a little hard to tell when her skin was already a delicate shade of sun burnt pink. She rushed on, "And he is great. The only problem is: is that he has a problem. His sister went out swimming, and she didn't come back. It has been almost two days now, and he is worried. Did you happen to pick someone up?" She looked up at him, her green eyes showing worry and hope.

"I am sorry Arty, I haven't picked up anyone. In fact, I can't." Raking a hand through his hair, Poseidon strode towards the window. Resting his elbow against the delicately wrought frame, he meekly informed her of what had happened. "I met someone who now is wearing the ring."

Silence. There was not a sound from behind him. Poseidon heard childish laughter from down in the garden, although there was nothing for him to see.

Finally, "What! I thought we were through with that silly ring! Couldn't you have just destroyed it all those years ago! And who has it anyways, and is that why you wouldn't talk to me, because you couldn't?"

"Of course that is why I couldn't talk to you. It is not as if I would ignore you. And you know that once Hephaestus makes something it is not as if you can just unmake it." Pacing back and forth, Poseidon tugged at the sweatshirt he had on over a pair of baggy pants. He was completely dry now, but he still felt agitated as if there was salt on his face. Scrubbing his hand across his face, he was surprised to feel prickles.

A frown marring his brow, he walked over to one of the mirrors and looked in. Spreading out from one side of his jaw to another was small amounts of hair. Stubble. It was not as if Poseidon had never had stubble before, it was just that whenever he felt it, he could normally just will it away. The sight of his jaw just served to anger him more. If Lotus hadn't been such a...

Turning away from the mirror, he saw Artemis gazing at him, an eyebrow raised. "I didn't know you were so vain!" Luckily Poseidon say the underlying humor, or he would have been seriously tempted to throttle her.

"Anyways, as to the rest of your question, I just happened to come across the woman who was wearing the ring as I was swimming. My powers deserted me, and now I am stuck with her, as there is no way for me to get far enough away that the ring won't have an influence on me. And it won't come off of Hali's finger. I even tried..." His words got cut off in a squeal.

"HALI! You meant Hali this entire time! Where is she? Is she okay? Oh gosh Jace is going to be so happy!" Artemis started squeaking in a really high voice, her words tumbling out one over the other. Shocked at first all Poseidon did was stare at her. Jace? Who was Jace? Suddenly, and unknown emotion seized up his stomach. Some man was worried about her? Why hadn't she told him that she was with someone? Why did he care?

Clenching his jaw he hissed at the still questioning Artemis, "Hush! She is sleeping!" Once Artemis calmed down enough to stop chattering and process his words, she shut up pretty quickly. Stepping closer to her, Poseidon continued, "She had a small concussion and is resting now. Please be quiet, sleeping will help cure her faster."

"Oh, poor dear! I do hope that she will be better soon." Her sympathetic gaze strayed towards the closed door leading to the bedroom. "She is in there, isn't she?" Striding swiftly but silently, she peered through a crack in the door. Gazing at the figure lying in bed, Artemis smiled slightly, and gently closed the door. Turning around to face Poseidon, she stated, "Oh, I am happy. Jace had been so worried. You will keep her safe, won't you?"

At Poseidon's emphatic of course, Artemis gave a matter of fact nod. "Now, I will go to Zeus and see how I can get you out of this place. Too bad that traveling with other people is not my thing. Perhaps Hermes would-" Suddenly she was gone.

Poseidon stood in the room, expecting her to pop back any moment. When nothing happened for a while, he turned around, looked, and then shrugged his shoulders.

Poseidon lay back down on the couch, determined to get a little rest in before they left this place. This time Poseidon fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

***

"Now that the shields are up, no gods can come in. Their power is forbidden." A cultured tone of unknown gender spoke to a figure dressed in a concealing robe. The person in the robe was kneeling in front of a large dome of polished stones. Ancient runes were carved upon them, the indents staying a solid, polished black, while the surface glowed with an eerie greenish light.

"None of the gods would be able to stay near this. It is too powerful. Don't worry; everything will work out to satisfaction." The one kneeling on the floor stood slowly, their movements embedded in power, not age.

"It is finally going to happen."


	16. Chapter 16

Rogan stood at a window, his hands clasped behind his back. He stood ridged, at attention, staring into the night. From the high window he could look down over the public palace and prison, well aware of the new problems that they would be facing soon. God he hated this deception.

"They could possibly be dangerous. I mean, they came on something from the modern world. They have not had contact with us ever, and the only modern people that have ever been introduced here have been placed by the gods. They were told what and how and why Atlantis is here." Rogan made no move to turn around and face the queen. There would be no point. He was just a guard; she was not talking to him, directly.

Sure, he was one of the queens' bodyguards, besides being a patrol with another group. He was multi-talented. The Lefield family was one of the most esteemed families on Atlantis, the warrior bloodline strong and dominate in the males and females. Rogan's family had been pleased when he had decided to join the army. However, they were not so pleased when he became a healer, instead of a commander.

Atlantis's army worked quite differently than any other type of military, which was perhaps why they were so powerful. The worked in teams of five, commander, intelligence, engineer, communicator and healer. While some had no relevance in one situation, they may be crucial in another.

The queen sat upright in one of the plush chairs, sipping tea from a china cup. "I have concerns about them staying. Are the gods going to interfere? Should we accept them into our society, or should we put them to work on the east side of the island. I daresay, whatever we do, the only ones to protest it will be themselves."

Sitting across from her was her chancellor, a portly man but with a straight back. He had long been guidance for the rulers, they young queen being the third ruler he had advised. Gristock was his name, and he spoke with just a touch of arrogance and through his nose. Rogan almost cringed every time he talked. There was nothing decisively wrong with him, indeed his council was most wise, however one did not want to listen to him for long. And Gristock loved to give speeches.

"I would let them into society. Who knows what their real purpose is to be here. Although they say they know nothing about Atlantis, they might have been put here by the gods. They might be here to test us." Gristock stopped and preened for a second, taking a dainty sip out of the matching teacup. "Atlantis is, after all, a vastly superior place, but the gods don't wish for arrogance in people who are not... gods." A flash of confusion flitted over his face, his thoughts as twisted as his disoriented speech.

The queen sat still for a minute, the graceful lines of her body still, and her brow furrowed in thought. "Yes, I can see what you mean. Very well, I shall have them removed from the Teal Room, and placed here. They shall be infinitely more comfortable." Setting down the cup, she stood up, the crystals in her tasteful tiara catching the light and briefly sending little lights dancing about the room. Striding to the bell pull, she waited for a servant to appear.

Rogan had not turned around during the exchange, but once the queen started to move, so did he, subtly walking along the room so that he could keep one eye on the woman while also aware of all the entrances. Atlantis was a beautiful city; however it had its share of crazy men and woman. He was not a busy bodyguard, but neither was he idle.

A maid came in and bobbed a curtsy, "Yes, Lisa, I would wish the man and wife staying in the public palaces teal room to be transferred to the... blue room here. I would also like for you to call Mr. and Mrs. Anderson for them to be fitted with clothing. Instruct them to bring everything they need to make a complete wardrobe change. Thank you." Turning, the queen once again went back to her seat, and Rogan crossed back to the window.

Despite Poseidon's thoughts that the queen would be one to take what she wanted, he was wrong. She knew what her duty was, and she planned on doing her best. The queens name was Danielle Bryant, and she had, until recently been a maid to one of the wealthier families in the Atlantis city. Her mother, a maid just as she, had encouraged Danielle to try and apply for the queen position, claiming that it did no harm to try. Indeed, it did no harm.

Since Danielle came from such humble backgrounds, she had had to prove that she knew full well what was owned to the country, and to show that she was no fool. She dressed in the height of fashion, sometimes setting it, and she had some of the best manners. Her approval, which was once thought a trifle thing, was now most coveted. Danielle was no one's fool, and she had shown everyone else in her few short years as queen that.

Unfortunately, she was also not going to let the crime that the late King had easily let happen continue. She had increased the men on patrol, had periodic checks in a number of police and policy departments. Her determination to make Atlantis a cleaner and safer city had earned her the respect of many, but also made her some bitter enemies.

However, the queen still remained conscious of her duty, and still tried to do her best in all situations. And as much as she was annoyed with Gristock, she still listened to him and respected what he had to say. He did usually have good ideas.

The queen picked up her tea and talked again to Gristock. "Well, now that that is done, is there anything you would like to discuss with me?" Gristock and Danielle talked for another hour about little things in the city and a few more issues in the country. Atlantis was no small island that only contained one city; there were a few others around, although they were nowhere near Atlantis's grandeur.

After the two finished talking, Gristock stood up and bowed before the queen. "Goodnight and I shall see you tomorrow. Remember we shall have to go over some more reform issues before tomorrow's ball."

Groaning and covering a yawn behind her hand, Danielle stated, "Oh, no worry about that. I do believe that my entire night will be taken up with thoughts of reforms and what tedious little comments I shall have to make to some crotchety old man." At Gristock's guffaw, she smiled, "Goodnight to you too. Pleasant dreams." Gristock bowed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

After Gristock left, Danielle thoughtfully sipped at her now cold tea, going over a few of the proposals in her mind. Carefully setting the cups back on the tray, she looked up at the solid back of the young man standing at the window. Licking her lips softly, she opened her mouth to say something. She quickly closed it again; wistfulness and self-anger flitted across her face before she composed herself and stood up.

She softly spoke to him, "I should like to retire now, Rogan." Immediately he turned around, his right hand coming up to place itself on his chest as he bowed to her.

"Yes, your majesty." Danielle turned away before he looked up again, frustration on her face. So much for her trying to be agreeable. She was not unaware of how attractive the silent man was, but all attempts to be interesting or nice to him did nothing.

Squaring her shoulders she moved towards the door and then down the corridor, silently followed by a silent man, who, if she had turned around and looked at him, was looking very interested.

***

"What do you mean you were kicked out? You are a goddess! You can go anywhere!" Zeus had trouble understanding just what young Artemis was talking about. A god being denied access? Preposterous!

"Just what I have said. Atlantis is impossible to get to. Something is going on there." And by Artemis's expression, she was a little concerned over that fact.


	17. Chapter 17

Something was strange in Hali's mind. A little corner of her brain was working furiously, some part that had never worked before. A part devoted to the unusual. Perhaps it was her concussion, perhaps it was the ring. The most likely reason was that it was a combination of both. Someone like Hali could not carry the ring for long and not feel a slight difference. She was special. She was changing.

Hali snuggled down into her sheets and then slowly blinked up at the ceiling. At the yellow ceiling. Her lips quirked slightly at the memory of her surprise yesterday. She hadn't been able to see clearly, but she didn't have to when it was obvious that this was no blue room. Sitting up in bed, Hali rubbed the back of her head and yawned. Collecting her thoughts, she rolled out of the bed and looked for the bathroom.

Right, so she was in the mythical Atlantis. And she was hungry, sleep logged, and wearing the same clothes from yesterday. Hali pushed the sleeves of her sweatshirt up past her elbows and opened the door. She scratched the side of her nose and looked around. There lying on the couch was Poseidon. Asleep.

Running the tip of her tongue over her fuzzy feeling teeth, Hali decided not to wake him. So she quietly tiptoed over to the door that must be for the bathroom. They would give prisoners a personal bathroom if they had given them a whole suite... right?

Hali dodged a plumb arm chair, a small stand of books, a tasteful coffee table, and a snoozing man. Once at the door to the bathroom, Hali turned back to look at him. He was stretched out on the couch, his legs hanging off the edge. His features were relaxed in sleep, more boyish. His chest was covered with the sweat shirt, but Hali knew just what he looked like underneath it. Coloring slightly, Hali turned to the door and opened it, steeping into the bathroom.

The yellow bathroom was tastefully simple, a bath with something like a shower, a toilet looking thing, large, fluffy yellow towels, a sink that contained water already, and a wonderful collection of hanging gas globes. The glass around the flame was a wonderful lime green, the hint of color playing wonderfully with the large mirror hanging over the sink.

Hali stuck her tongue out at the tousled figure in the mirror. She looked like a crazy person who did not waste any of their lounging time with personal hygiene. Walking over to the bath, Hali tested the taps. By pushing down on one button, cool water came out. Pulling up on another cause the cool water to heat up. Plugging the drain in the bottom, Hali experimented with the temperature. Satisfied that she had a good warmth, she turned away to the sink counter.

The sink was a curious thing. It was draining at the bottom, slowly, and there was a small faucet that was constantly supplying the basin with fresh water. Personal hygiene did seem to be pushed in this city.

Hali looked around the bath area and found no shampoo or conditioner, or even soap. Irritated and grump, Hali rubbed her head, for some reason it was hurting, and looked around the bathroom once more. Underneath the basin on the counter was a sink.

Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity, she walked over and knelt down by the door, and opened it up. Inside was an assortment of differently colored glass bottles. Picking one up, Hali peered at the label, and then closed her eyes for a second, and reopened them. They were in a different language, presumably Greek, and yet she could understand it.

"Pear and Peach Hair Cleanser" The flowing script proclaimed. Hali stared at the writing for a while, trying to puzzle out the problem. Why was she able to read and understand a language that she had never heard before, let alone studied? And how exactly did one come to an enchanted, non-existent island?

Putting the class bottle with the peach colored cleanser down, Hali brought her hands up to her head and rubbed her temples. She hated that when she slept in she sometimes got a head ache.

A few minutes later, her thighs where protesting the strain, so Hali rifled through the remaining things in the cabinet. She found a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hair brush, body soap, and her hair cleanser. However, she didn't find any conditioner. By that time, the taps had filled the tub full, and her headache was just getting worse.

Turning off the taps, and quickly brushing her teeth with the very minty toothpaste, Hali stripped and climbed into the tub. The water was the perfect temperature, and she could feel her muscles relaxing almost immediately. Hali leisurely soaped and rinsed her hair twice, and then used a small towel to rub the body wash on. After dunking herself and completely rinsing off, Hali lay back against the tub and closed her eyes. Her head ache was still there, but it had gone down.

The water was warm, and the glorious fact of being clean easily convinced Hali to stay in there for a little while longer.

In the main room, Poseidon had come awake once hearing the bath water starting. Quickly getting up and checking the bedroom, he relaxed, knowing that Hali was indeed the one in the bathroom.

That done, he sat down to wait for his turn. Poseidon ran his though over his teeth, very confused by the feeling. He had never had to brush his teeth before; his hygiene had always been assuredly top quality. It was wonderful to be a god. All one had to do was think about some things, and it happened. And as embarrassing as it was, he would have to ask the woman how to do some things.

Wandering over to the large chair and the collection of books, Poseidon selected a seemingly entertaining one. It was about a fool, and the fool's adventures of battling great windmills, and other such things. Settling down in the chair, he started to read.

About 20 pages into it, though, a knocking on the door startled him. Poseidon shot up, and the door burst open. In bustled a lady with a startlingly large hairdo, and a flamboyantly orange dress that clashed horribly with the decor of the room. However flamboyant her dress was though, it seemed to suit the woman, as did her curly and looped hair.

"Ah yes, you must be the husband. Oh, and such a handsome one too, lovely bone structures! They just don't make men like you very much, now do they? Oh, you would do perfectly in navy blue... and light blue... Oh, any blue would work well! And where is your wife?" The woman gave Poseidon no time to say anything about his supposed wife, no time, indeed to say anything. He just stood there, one eyebrow quirked, following the moves of the enthusiastic lady. "Come in; come in, you silly girls! The faster that this is done, the sooner you shall all have a break! Put the red bolts over there, and then on down with the colors. Have the blues next to me!" In came a number of girls in black and white, starched uniforms. Poseidon guessed that they were part of the ladies business, which he had quickly surmised to be tailoring and dress making.

The woman bustled up to him, and grabbed his hand, jerking him out of his sardonic pose and pulled him along behind her. "Now, I want you to stand right here... Oh, dear, you are quite dreadfully tall, aren't you?" On top of the two foot stand, he towered above the woman. "Well, I shall just have to stand on a chair... and you will have to kneel sometimes, I am afraid." Turning away from the comical expression now written on Poseidon's face, she spoke more instructions. "Now, Elise, bring me that blue silk... no the other one. And the green cotton..." More colors and materials flew out of the woman's active mouth.

Bolts of fabric draped over his shoulders and looped around his waist, Poseidon stared in confusion. What was going on in this mad house?


	18. Chapter 18

By the time Hali woke from her light doze in the bathtub and heard the commotion in the next room, the seamstress had moved onto pre-made suits.

Poseidon was still standing on the stool, holding as still as possible while the woman set pins around the waist band of the navy blue slacks she had on him. At ease with the fact that he was bare from the waist up in the middle of a room full of young woman, he wore a sardonic smile. The really funny part had been when had had to change into the pants. The seamstress had pushed the giggling women out of the room and then handed him drawers to put on.

Poseidon was a god, and his body was quite spectacular, and so he had no false modesty. After all, he used to be quite wild in his youth, and he still didn't mind being fussed over. So once the women were back in the room, he couldn't help but tease them a little bit. Every now and then he would flex his arms, and hold back a smile while some silly chit twittered.

However, now that the woman was perilously close to a certain body part that he would not like to be pricked, he held as still as he could. Apparently someone had felt the need to clothe them, and with quality clothing at that. The slacks he had on where of a nice cotton, but the shirt, waistcoat and jacket on the back of the couch where made with silk and superfine. Nothing but the best.

And the seamstress was still talking a mile a minute, even with a few pins stuck between her teeth, "It is wonderful that we holding a matrimonial ball for the queen. You will look so super in the costume all the men have to wear. Oh, it is quite hilarious to see some of the older and not so fit men in it! Their bellies hanging out every which way. And yet they still try. Silly men, do they really think that they could turn the pretty, young queen's head?" The seamstress laughed. She was in around her forties, but she was still attractive. She had such a bubbly personality, only the truly grouchy could dislike her. So as much as she confused Poseidon, he still felt like he could ask her some questions.

"What is the matrimonial ball, besides the obvious, and what is the costume?"

"Oh, well, they always have the matrimonial ball every three months until the queen or king find someone acceptable they would like to marry. Sometimes it is for politics, although the majority of the time it is for love. Or what they deem love. Anyways, the costume is this." With that she began to pin the loose fabric on his legs tighter, defining the muscles in his thighs. "Oh, yes, it is a wonderful thing that we have a queen, and not a king. You are one magnificent specimen."

At this time, the door to the bathroom opened, and Hali stepped out into a world of fabric. Her eyebrows raised, she looked around the room until her gaze settled on Poseidon, standing tall, proud, and without a shirt. Quickly glancing away, she headed towards the bedroom, planning to disappear in that room. With no such luck.

"Ah, here is your wife! Lovely. It is a shame that you are not open for the queen to choose as a husband, but your pretty wife here is very glad of that fact, I am sure. Now," The bustling woman in orange came over and circled her, and stopped in front of her. "Yes, your skin tone is quite good, and you do look well in yellow, do you not?" At Hali's bewildered nod, she clapped her hands. "Wonderful! I do love the yellow materials we have, but so very few people can wear it. Now, would you come with me please?"

She lead Hali to another stool set up about five feet to the left of Poseidon, and proceeded to do the same thing with her, draping her with colors and fabrics, checking what colors went well, and what clashed.

"Well, now that we have the basics, let's get you changed into this dress." From another stack of clothes, this one pre made dresses; she pulled out a navy blue one, almost the same color as Poseidon's. She couldn't tell much about it, though, as it was still draped over the still unknown dressmakers arm.

"Now, how about we get you out of those bulky things," Here she held up an assortment of garments, and a...

"Corset?! I have never worn a corset in my life! I have seen the movies; I am going to faint!" Hali tried to step backwards, and almost fell off of the stool.

The dressmaker frowned at the offending item and looked back at her. "Well, we just will have to make it pretty loose. I don't know what your figure is like yet, dear, come and take off the other garments."

Hali blushed furiously. She wanted her to strip off her clothes and change? But Poseidon was here; surly she would make him leave. Hali almost groaned then... no the seamstress thought them to be married! They would be intimately aware off all aspects of each other's naked bodies. Hali refused to look at Poseidon, his look; whatever it maybe, would be just too mortifying.

Guessing at Hali's embarrassment, the woman stepped forward and muttered to her, "Do you want the other girls to leave?" At Hali's emphatic nod, she clapped her hands together and ushered the girls out the door. Hali, still refusing to look at her supposed husband, saw that the others had no qualms in tossing him flirtatious looks and seductive smiles. Her nose crinkled up. Back where she came from, those girls would be labeled something!

"Okay dear, there you are." The woman turned her back and bustled to the end of the room.

Here Hali did turn to Poseidon, her gaze wild and frightened. "Turn away! I am not changing in front of you!" she whispered. Her mood turned to anger, though, at his teasing expression and the way he seemed to be having too much fun at her expense.

"Well, wife, why should I? After all, I would have seen you naked plenty of times. What would she say? We are married, after all, with all of the perks that come with it." He gave her a lavish smile, which quickly turned into a small burst of laughter at the death glare she gave him.

"Well, just turn away, would you. You and I both now we are not. Besides, she is not even looking! Just turn." Hali's hands clenched into fists, and she gave a little stomp with her foot.

"Ah, but my dear Hali, I cannot. Do you not see the pins that are perilously close to my delicate skin? I cannot move, it would just be too, too awful!"

Hali growled at him through clenched teeth. Her gaze swung to a movement to her left, and she now groaned. The seamstress was coming back, a confused expression on her face. "My dear what is wrong? Do you need help?"

Hali yelped a No, while Poseidon decided to interject his own thoughts into the matter. "I am sorry Miss, she is just very shy, and does not like to change in front of anyone not her husband." Here he tossed a condescending smile at her. "She is such a dear, but she does have some false modesty every now and then."

Hali could have gladly kicked him. Right where it counts. Or maybe right where there was a needle, just to get back at him. However, his little speech plus his blinding smile, which Hali had to admit was quite effective, had the woman going to the door and out.

Once the door was closed, Hali stepped off of the stool and headed towards the bedroom, intent on staring straight in front of her, and paying no head to the rather annoying, very hot man standing on display.

"What, Hali, no kiss of gratitude? Not even a little hug?" Poseidon laughed outright, rich and deep. Hali just mentally shook off the little tremors that ran down her back opened the door, and stuck a certain finger up in the air behind her.

It didn't give her much satisfaction, though. As he had no idea what it meant.

In another room in another building, another man was getting ready for the matrimonial ball. His costume of pants was dark green, and very form fitting. His body was not as muscular as Poseidon; his body type was leaner. However, the chest shown off was very impressive, and the muscles in his legs where quite defined as well. This was indeed another finely built specimen of a man.

It was not possible to tell if he was handsome though, as a black mask sat across his face. His lips where full, though curved down slightly, his chin square and strong. His thick brown hair was longish, resting at the middle of his neck. Despite the fact that you could not see his full face, it was very easy to believe that he would be handsome. And green eyes, the same color as his pants, stared out into the world.

There was a stillness about him. He knew something was coming, and he knew what he had to do. Drawing a deep breath, he walked to the door and stepped out, heading down to the matrimonial ball.


	19. Chapter 19

Hali soon learned what the seamstress had meant by costume. There were a number of men dressed up in them. The pants ranged in every color you could imagine with every sort of decoration available. Some men seemed to think that the glitterier they were, the higher chance they had of getting the queen to notice them. And noticed they were. There was the man with bright red pants with silver sequence sewn liberally all over them. There was the man who had gold braid stitched into little designs.

And all of the men who were trying to attract the queen wore masks. Some of them where huge, covering their entire face. Hali assumed, with a little giggle that those where the men who weren't considered handsome. Some had plain small masks and others funny bright ones. There was a man with checkered black and white pants and a mask with little bells on it. Hali assumed that even though Atlantis was cut off from the outside world, they still received some sort of influence from them.

And then there was Poseidon. Who looked just stunning... in his plain navy blue pants. He wore no mask; everyone believed them to be married. Even though Hali didn't look old enough to be, apparently no one was going to dispute the facts. Maybe their women married young here. But, while people believed them to be married, that didn't stop a number of women from coming up to him.

"Dear me, sir, you must be new here. I am sure I would instantly recognize you!" Some woman was fawning over him. And she had three friends looking on in amusement and envy. Hali rolled her eyes and turned her back to them. Ridiculous.

"Indeed my wife and I just came to this place." By Poseidon's tone, he didn't appear to be too unhappy with this woman's attention, Hali quirked a quick smile. He was probably used to it.

A number of servants in all white suits with gold embroidery on it were carrying champagne glasses on silver trays. Instead of there being a goldenish color to the drink, however, there was a bright cherry red that still managed to look like it would be champagne.

Curious, Hali took one from a nearby servant. Looking down into the glass, she saw that, yes it still bubbled like champagne, and it was clear, it was just... red.

"It is quite good, actually." Hali jumped slightly and turned towards the unknown voice. A man dressed in the courting costume lounged against a marble pillar. Like the rest of the marble ballroom, the pillar had been draped over in gauzy sheets of gold and light blue, making the room appear to be one color and then another. It also had the added affect of making everything seem to float. However, the man against the pillar was very dark.

He wore dark green pants and a black mask. He had tousled dark brown hair, and a lock of it fell over onto his forehead. He was muscular, in shape and then some. Not as much as Poseidon, a little voice in her head whispered, which Hali firmly ignored. His skin tone was more of an olive color; Hali would bet that he had some Italian in his history. Except, Hali remember with a tiny frown, there would be no way for an Italian to come here.

"Try it. I promise it is good. I just probably won't taste like anything you have ever tried before." Hali, who had just about taken a sip of it, instead looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"How did you know that I am not from here?" A little suspicious, but not to terribly worried, after all, why would anyone want to stalk her, Hali waited for his reply.

"Well, everyone knows everyone on the Island. It is not as if someone could travel over from the other countries. Anyone new did, so their understanding of Atlantis's ways is a bit sketchy. If you were true Atlantian, then you would have instantly taken a sip, and not wondered what the drink was."

Hali couldn't fault his logic. It sounded reasonable and honest. Although she would have had a harder time believing anyone who looked sly or underhand. But this man here seemed genuine... true, and not capable of telling a lie. Hali knew that was silly, but she just seemed to trust him.

So she raised the glass to her lips and tasted the red champagne. And found that it was delightful. It tasted as if she had bitten into a cherry and taken a sip of cool clean spring water. It was definitely delicious. Hali had tried some champagne before, but really had not found it very good. But this was wonderful. She took another sip. Yum.

The man pushed himself off of the pillar and bowed to her. "My name is James." Hali quirked an eyebrow again at his lack of a last name. Curious, but she wasn't going to be rude enough to ask. She knew when someone wanted to conceal something.

"I am Hali Nelson. And over there, surrounded by a gaggle of females is my husband." Hali flicked her hand over to Poseidon, who was about ten yards away, indeed surrounded by many females. He smiled at them all and flirted, like any good, hot guy did with any gorgeous females. And they all where. Gorgeous and slender. Hali frowned and took a long drought from her glass. Silly women... silly her.

James flicked his gaze back and forth between the two of them. "Ahh," he said in understanding. Apparently the young woman was not happy with her husband's current state. Well, he did need to get across the room, and the only available walking space was reserved for dancing.

"Would you care to dance with me, Hali Nelson?" He bowed jauntily and held out his hand for her.

Hali started with surprise. "Oh, well. Sure, I mean I would like to but I don't know how to do any of those dances", she waved her hand towards the dance floor where a number of couples where twirling in the waltz. She had never been much of a dancer, but she would have like to try. It did look like a lot of fun.

"Oh, the waltz is easy. You don't have to know the steps, I will lead you, and I am confident that will pick it up after that."

Hali thought for a moment and then smiled up at him. "Okay! Let's do this!" Looking around for a footman to take her now empty glass, she swiftly deposited it onto a silver tray and was lead out onto the dance floor.

Poseidon flirted and teased. He paid compliments to women who seemed to think it was their right to demand all of his attention. However, they were not. He was well aware of Hali, who had, until just recently, been talking with another man who could be deemed handsome.

And he was slightly jealous.

Him! A Greek God, although he had no powers, he was still a god. And he was jealous of a mortal... over a mortal woman. He shook his head slightly. It was just not possible... but it was.

Glancing around once again, he saw her now dancing with the man. He had his hand on her hip; the other was holding her hand. And HER hand was on his bare shoulder. Clenching his teeth, he tamped down his urge to growl. Didn't he know she was married?

That thought brought Poseidon up short. But they weren't married. They only said they were. Which meant that everyone thought they were, but he knew better. He knew they weren't. So why had he said, even though it was only in his thoughts, that they were married.

Poseidon's thoughts were interrupted by a regal tone declaring as loud as possible, without actually shouting, "Ladies and Gentleman, I give you The Queen!"


	20. Chapter 20

Down the flight of stairs, the queen walked gracefully. She held with one hand her silk light blue skirt, and the other rested on the arm of one of the body guards. She greeted people by name, and seemed to have a warm smile for everyone. Poseidon gave her a brief look over; a little shocked at how he could have been so wrong in judging her character. It was obvious that she was a kind hearted queen. The people seemed to admire her.

Hali looked at her too. She had heard her voice, but her vision had been too wonky to actually see a clear picture. Apparently the queen had thought them no threat, though. Hali had to give her credit for not immediately assuming they were evil... as she could imagine happening.

The dance had stopped as soon as the queen was announced and the light applause had begun. The queen made her way over to the food table and sank into a chair next to it. Just a regular chair, no throne, no overdressed ceremony. Just plain and simple.

The band begun and Hali turned back to James... ready to finish what had been a pleasant dance. He inclined his head and took up the waltz position again... but Hali noticed that he was tense, and his smiled seemed forced.

"Is something the matter? Did I step on your foot?" She put a week smile with her words, trying to lighten the sort of depressed mood. What had happened?

James blinked at her and offered her a real smile. "Oh, no. Sorry, I just saw someone I would rather not have to deal with. So, how are you finding Atlantis?" James made small talk with her, explaining some of the sites or of what little she had seen from the 'prison' cell. His tone was warm and comforting, and affection danced in his eyes along with his excitement. Hali smiled, his enthusiasm catching. He obviously loved this city.

The dance ended, and the waltzing couples broke apart, clapping lightly for the band. They were quite good. She and James were on the opposite side of the room from her supposed husband, and looking back on the gaggle of females around him, she gladly stayed away. Well, okay, not gladly, she amended to herself. Just wisely.

Hali turned around to face James again. Smiling up at him, she was about to ask him a question, when someone addressed her. "Well, I believe that this is the young lady that is the new addition to Atlantis. And how are you my dear?" A ponderous voice asked.

Hali turned around and immediately stopped short. My god... this man should not be seen in public in the matrimonial costume. He was heavy and sweaty and in no way toned. Jerking her gaze up to his face, she noticed that the sweaty continued, and that a mask covered the better part of his face. He thought that he had a chance with the beautiful queen?

Hali lightly scolded herself; she didn't need to be mean. "I uh... I, Yes. I guess that I am the new arrival. Hali Nelson. Pleased to meet you." She held her hand out to him to shake. Instead he grasped it in his sweaty palm and brought it up to his lips for a quick kiss. Hali cringed inwardly, but tried to keep her face as pleasantly blank as possible.

"And I am Gristock, the Queen's Personal Adviser." Completely ignoring James behind her shoulder, he continued on. "And as such, I would like to formally welcome you to our humble country. I know that some things will be hard to let go of, but be grateful. The Queen and I have decided that you and your husband are not dangerous, and have been allowed to mingle with society. I don't know if you are aware of it, but you are to be moved into the royal quarters until you have found occupation and then the means to find your own place. Or you have found someone to take you in." Gristock concluded his speech, most of it spoken in a haughty tone, snagged a glass of champagne from a wandering servant, and drank deeply from it. Hali kept a pleasant smile on her face. Oh dear...

"Yes," he huffed slightly to her. Hali forced herself not to look below his chin, as she might have burst into giggles at the site of his heaving belly. Clearing his throat, he started again. "Yes, well, now that the Queen has settled, let's formally introduce you two."

And Gristock took her arm and forcefully propelled her towards where the queen was holding court. The touch of his fleshy, hot arm against her bare one was not pleasant, and she glanced back with a note of pleading to James. One which turned to surprise when she found he was no longer there.

Poseidon watched as Hali was dragged away. He could tell that she obviously didn't want to go with the old man. Not that he blamed her. The man really shouldn't go around without a shirt.

Quickly excusing himself from the woman whom he had quickly gotten bored with, he easily made his way around the perimeter of the room. Quirking a slight smile, he appreciated the fact that people just seemed to get out of his way. One of the finer parts of being a god. Just a bit away from Hali, he called out her name.

"Poseidon! How delightful!" She had a forced smile on, and planted herself so that the man could not drag her any farther without knocking her over. "This is Gristock, and he was just taking me to be introduced to the queen."

The hint of panic in her eyes made him understand completely. Nodding once, he offered her his arm. She jerked her arm away from the man who now resembled a fish, wide eyes and gaping mouth along with the shallow complexion, and hurried over to his side.

Poseidon took her hand and slid it under his elbow, but did not let go as was customary. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Now, are you ready to meet her?"

His breath brushed against the sensitive skin, and he repressed his grin when he saw her shiver slightly. Bracing her shoulders, she nodded slightly, her eyes appeared greener in navy blue, and the panicked expression quickly faded to be replaced by humor. "Yes, let's go and meet the queen."

"Good," and before he could think about it, he dropped his lips down to hers and brushed his slightly across the soft rosy lips. He wanted to deepen the kiss, but he pulled back, well aware that they were in a crowded ballroom.

Hali looked back at him, her eyes wide, and shocked. Grinning slightly, he turned to the older man, whom he had been ignoring up to that point. "I am the lady's husband. Did you say something about meeting the queen?"

"Uh... yes, yes I did. Follow me please!" And with that, the overweight man waddled through the crowd, most of whom moved very quickly when they saw the size of his girth.

***

James kept to the shadows of the ballroom, watching the woman Hali's approach to the queen. He could not believe it. The green stone hidden somewhere in the city was supposed to push out any one of magical powers, and yet her one was, one who had high enough connections to come to a matrimonial ball.

Frowning he turned his gaze to the man now holding her hand possessively. He would be a problem. The man seemed large enough to hold his own in any fight, and there was a confidence that radiated from him. No doubt he knew a thing or two about combat. That would make his superior's job harder.

Once he had figured out what Hali Nelson was, he had signaled to his superior and quickly explained the situation to him while the queen was distracting everyone. She now was going to be dealt with accordingly. His lips twisted ironically, no one was to get in their way.

James once again leaned back against the cool marble, and waited for the fireworks to begin.


	21. Chapter 21

"Your Majesty, may I present Poseidon and Hali Nelson?" Gristock bowed low to the beautiful lady sitting daintily in the chair. Gristock motioned them forward with a slight wave of his hand, and then stepped behind her chair, a patronizing smile showing underneath his mask.

Hali and Poseidon stepped forward and made their bows to the queen. Poseidon was stately as he made his bow, and Hali felt like a klutz, wobbly curtsying, remembering at the last moment to grab her skirt. Gristock had given her a brief run-through on what she had to do.

"I am delighted to see the both of you in such fine health. I hope nothing more serious happened after your little injury? I can assure you that the man responsible for it has been duly reprimanded." The queen spoke in a cultured tone, her face reflecting her genuine concern. Or she was a terrific actress.

"Thank you, but no. I am in perfect health now!" As the queen's face smoothed into a smile, Hali couldn't help but smile back.

"Perfect! Now I have consulted with Gristock about moving you to a room in the palace..." As the three of them talked, across the room James moved into place.

"Wonderful! I shall hope to see the two of you at lunch tomorrow. There I will talk to you about being citizens of Atlantis and-" Absolute darkness cut off the queens words.

Pandemonium broke out in the ballroom. Screams and yells where heard over the shuffling of feet and the breaking of the champagne glasses. Hali strained her eyes uselessly, trying to find Poseidon.

Arms came around her back, pulling her against a bare chest. Letting out a small scream, Hali whirled to face the unknown man.

"Shh, it is me. Just stay calm." Hali relaxed against Poseidon's chest, her arms coming around to clutch his waist. Slowly Poseidon started to back up. "The wall was to my back. If we keep going in a steady line, then we should reach it sometime soon." The crowd had quieted by this time, people taking charge of the useless, and the natural born leaders coming to the forefront. The murmur of the crowd was still quite loud, but the screams where no longer. Just an occasional shout of hurt as someone was prodded or stepped on.

Following Poseidon, Hali quickly thought over what was happening. The ballroom had been light by candles. There would have been no way for all the candles to be doused at one time. There were thousands of them. Something strange was going on.

Hali dragged her hands up Poseidon's side, trying to reach his shoulders so that she could turn slightly. She felt more than heard him suck in a breath.

"What? What is wrong?"

"Ah, nothing. It was... the ring!" Glancing around in confusion, Hali saw what Poseidon saw. Her ring was glowing! Brining her ring up to her face, she studied it slowly. The blue gold was shimmering incandescently, as if the sun was hitting it. And all of the sapphires, emeralds and pearls where just glowing. Hali brought her other hand up and rubbed her thumb across it. The ring was not any warmer than her hand...

At that instant; Hali heard a very loud scream nearby, one that sounded like the queen. Her head whipped around towards where the queen used to sit. And she felt another set of arms clamp around her shoulder and head. One hand came up to cover her mouth, a cloth in the palm of it. Hali reached out to Poseidon, her screams muffled by the cloth. One of her hands found his wrist before she brought it away, trying to jab her elbow back into the man's stomach.

Poseidon cursed as she wriggled; trying to get away from the arms, but the drug on the cloth stopped her from making any real fight. As Hali slowly faded out of consciousness, she heard Poseidon curse once more, and the sound of knuckles striking skin.

***

Poseidon awoke slowly, noticing three things. First of all, that he was holding Hali, warm and loose, asleep in his arms. Her head was resting on his chest, underneath his chin, one of her arms around his waist, and one of her legs between his. One of his hands was tangled at the back of her head, the fingers threaded through her silky hair.

The second was that they were in a moving vehicle of some sort. Since it was Atlantis, he believed that it was a horse drawn carriage. The wheels of the vehicle where too loud on whatever type of road they were on to hear if there where hoof beats or not. They were confined in a small, padded, place. It was like a box, long enough for him to stretch out in, and tall enough that he could, did he not have Hali on his chest, possible crawl around in. However, it was perhaps five feet wide, which did not leave much moving space. There was a mesh opening in two places, letting in sunlight and air from one, and just air from another. It was dark, but not overly so.

The third fact was that he had a splitting headache. When Hali had been dragged away from him, a couple of men had attacked him. The attacks where at crucial points and all of his protective moves had been blocked or avoided. As much as it galled him to admit it, he had been beaten. However, since all of his attacks had been blocked, Poseidon was positive that they had been able to see in the dark by some device or another.

One of the men had planted a very firm blow to his temple, which knocked him out, for a moment. However, once he was down, they had felt the need to chloroform him.

Poseidon wrinkled his brow, and tipped Hali's head back, so that he could study it. Her face had a bruise on one side, but it did not look like she had been struck. The purplish circle under her eyes was from the drug. Wincing, Poseidon realized that this probably wasn't helping her head wound.

Hali murmured something in her sleep, her head and body wiggling to readjust to his body. Taking a deep breath, Poseidon closed his eyes and laid his head back. There was nothing to do now except wait. The rocking of the carriage was lulling, and he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts still on the sleeping woman in his arms.

Danielle woke suddenly, aware she was being watched. Slowly opening her eyes, she found she was in a carriage, half sitting, half laying in one of the corners. Sitting across from her where two men. Both wore masks. Both wore the matrimonial garb. Both where heavily muscled and tall, and holding swords across their laps. Both wore expressions of distaste and anger. Both expressions where aimed at her. Both she recognized.

"What? You are my body guards?" Danielle felt the worst sort of emotions. The strongest was hurt. And here she had felt attracted to him, and the entire time he was plotting against her.

"Rogan?" She whispered.


	22. Chapter 22

The man sitting across from Danielle sneered. "Never saw that coming? It was brilliant!" The smile that spread across Jason's well formed lips was ugly, marring his usually handsome features. He had been one of Danielle's body guards for two years. He had always done his job admirably, and even though she had seen the coldness in his hazel eyes, she had assumed that it was just detachment. Now she knew better. Then her eyes flicked over to the man she had known for three years.

She quickly shifted her eyes up above their heads, her chin at a stubborn angle. She wasn't going to be beaten down by these men. But inside she was hurting. She had looked all over the ball for Rogan, secretly hoping that perhaps he was attracted to her enough to make an appearance. She did not know what she would have done if he had been there, she probably would have been too shy to actually go up to him and talk to him. But she did have to admit, to a small part of herself that he did look incredible in the matrimonial garb, his chest defined and utterably touchable. Swallowing, she brought her gaze back to Jason's.

"How long?" No need to elaborate, they all knew she was talking about their plans and betrayal.

"A number of years. Pretty much since you took the throne four years ago." Jason flexed his hand around the hilt of his sword, his happiness showing by his spreading sneer. "You are much more aware than the last ruler, so we had to do much more maneuvering to get men into the palace and close to you." Jason elbowed Rogan sharply in the ribs, "Us here, we are the best, specially chosen to be body guards. Definitely the best at this sort of thing." He laughed harshly.

Danielle smoothed her pale silk gown over her knees, her hands trembling. Her hair hung in golden tangles around her shoulders. The silk was ruined, torn from rough handling and dirty from the passage from the ballroom to the coach. And there was blood on the bodice and smeared on her chest. Running her tongue over her bottom lip she winced when she encountered a cut there. Frowning slightly, she tried to remember where she had gotten it, and why she had blood on her.

Thinking back, she recalled what had happened before she had lost consciousness. The room had gone pitch black, and people had started to panic. Trying to calmly reassure people and all the while being aware that her current body guards had closed around her protectively. Now she knew at least three of them had. She had been fine, until she had heard one of the men around her grunt in pain and groan, his body making a slap on the marble floor. Another cry next to the fallen man whipped her body around. And she felt herself being sprayed with a liquid.

She had gone hysterical. The liquid had had to be blood. And she started to scream. Out of the darkness a hand came out and whipped across her face, slamming her head around. She had blacked out then.

Anger welled up within her. She was Queen! And these men had abused her trust and hurt her subjects. Drawing herself regally up, she glared at the two handsome men across from her. "Which of you killed my body guards?" She demanded in her most imperious voice.

Jason and Rogan didn't seem to think too much of her tone, both stiffened in their seats and holding onto their balanced swords. She did not shrink back though. A brief staring match ensued between the queen and the betrayers. Finally, Rogan broke the silence, speaking for the first time.

"I was otherwise occupied," his words low, almost soothing. For some reason Danielle relaxed a bit. She wasn't sure whether she was relieved that Rogan had not murdered her men or that his deep voice had just gentled her. Perhaps a bit of both. She gave him a curt nod, and then turned to Jason with an eyebrow lifted haughtily.

He sneered at her. "You didn't like that too much, huh? Wouldn't stop screaming, until I struck you." He added the last in a carefree attitude.

Rogan, however, stiffened. "You said that was an accident!" Rogan turned his body towards the other man, his visage going cold and angry. Jason involuntarily shrank back before his bravado kicked in.

"Why do you care? Huh? It isn't like she did anything for you!" Jason peered up into Rogan's face, his tone turning taunting and jeering. "You don't like this upstart peasant, do you?"

If possible, Rogan stiffened more and his face clouding over. "Do you honestly think I like having a monarchy? I didn't grow up with a democracy just to be ruled over absolutely by a queen. It is just that his Lordship specifically ordered her to not be harmed. And don't you forget that!" Rogan lifted the tip of his sword and pressed it against Jason's dueling hand, applying a slight pressure. "Understood?"

Jason rolled his eyes and nodded, looking sullen and peeved. He stared out the window and clenched his square jaw, his face hardening into an ugly mask. Danielle gave a mental shake of her head. Had she ever thought him handsome?

However, her mind was speeding back to something that the men had said. "Your leader, his Lordship or whatever, he doesn't want me to be hurt? If he is taking such care of me then he must not want me killed. Am I not correct?" She turned her gaze to Rogan, waiting for the answer to her question. He just stared back at her, looking her straight in the eyes. For a moment, a flash of something she did not know went through them. Then they went blank again.

Jason laughed harshly. "Oh, he does not want you assassinated." Danielle relaxed slightly against the squabs, the jarring motion of the coach making her head ache. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and closing her eyes for just a second before snapping them open. She would not show weakness to them.

Jason, however, was not done. "No, he would like the pleasure of killing you himself." Whatever bit of curve that had come to her spine immediately straightened back out as she went stiff again.

***

Zeus paced the clouds in the throne room. All around him was a crackling energy, and periodically he would strike his arm out and throw away some of it, causing lightning to spear across the room. He was not happy, not in the least.

It had been such a long time since anything had disturbed him this much. The humans were weak without the gods, this he knew. But mortals had abandoned them before the gods had closed themselves off. And since then, very few things had ever itched their existence.

But something was happening. Somewhere there was a wizard, even though there was no such thing as a wizard. Only gods could wield magic and only their own special abilities. Yet somewhere a mortal had obtained the skill and knowledge to use some. And the mortal was becoming not so mortal.

The blasted thing about the man was that the Zeus had no idea how to get to the man. Or how he even had the magical talent. The wizard must be one of the gods' offspring, but very few gods had gone to earth, and when questioned, all had sworn that they had not slept with anyone.

And none of the lesser gods dared to lie to Zeus, not anymore.

So Zeus would have to wait and see how things played out. The wizard had sequestered himself on Atlantis, and none of the gods could get past the man's shields. If Zeus wasn't so angry, he might have admired the man. As it was, all he wanted to do was fry him.


	23. Chapter 23

A large jolt bounced Hali out of her sleep and smacked her head up against something and brought her down onto another something. Laying on her side her head cushioned, she reached up and gingerly touched the side of her head. Sighing, she moved her hand over the bump that was already forming there. It wasn't too large, but it still hurt.

Groggily opening her eyes, she peered blearily at her dark surroundings. The first thing she noticed was her head was resting on the wonderfully bare chest of Poseidon's. Still not yet fully awake to wonder what she was doing on his chest, she peeped a glance up to his face. He still slept.

Biting her bottom lip, she rubbed the knot on her head and stared at his chest. What was it about blond swimmers with bodies like God's that just got to her so easily? Hali snorted at her own foolishness. Could anyone fault her? Who wouldn't be ecstatic to be lying on his chest? It was like velvet over steel.

Hali gazed at him in a sleepy trance. His chest was bronzed with the sun, and the muscles in his upper body built up to the precisely perfect level. Men with overly developed muscles just were creepy. His abs hadn't been spared either. His six-pack was very visible in spite of fact that he was asleep.

She shifted her gaze up to his face again, drinking up his beauty. Hali had never thought that a man would be beautiful. They were supposed to be Handsome, Smoldering, and Brooding. Yet, there was no other way to describe him. He was beautiful, classic. His arched eyebrows over blond but long eyelashes. Tousled longish blond hair. Straight patrician nose leading to his lips, the bottom fuller than the top. His jaw square with just a hint of stubble. Hesitantly she reached up with her hand and laid it against his cheek, rubbing slightly. Yep, slightly raspy.

Poseidon's bright blue eyes flew open, confusion lurking in them. Hali gasped, but she was too startled to move her hand. Oh gods! Her head was resting on his shoulder, her hand against his opposite cheek. Her eyes wide and her lips parted, she stared up at him, too paralyzed to move.

Poseidon could barely move either. Hali's scent and warm body resting against his side had invaded his dreams, the most vivid dreams he had had since his wild youth. Something about her spoke to him.

"Hello," He said gently, his voice still gravely from sleep. She blinked her long lashes at him and closed her mouth before wetting them.

"Hi," she said quietly back. A flash of panic spread across her face and she quickly snatched her hand off of his cheek. Without thought, Poseidon caught it with his own hand. Her confused and hesitant gaze flew back up to his, and then back to where his large hand now enveloped hers. Slowly, his eyes never wavering from her face, he brought her hand back up to his cheek and smoothed the back of it up and down his cheek rubbing his thumb over her smooth skin. Her hand tightened around his in reflex.

His other arm, which had been resting underneath her head and just laying down by her side, came up and over her waist, tightening and bringing her body more tightly against his. His eyes trained on her face he watched her blink languidly and bring them up to his gaze. He saw acceptance and want there. He realized that he had to kiss her. It was not a conscious decision, but everything in him demanded that he do.

Slowly, giving her any chance to withdraw, he brought his lips down to hers. Gently he brushed them softly over hers, creating a slight friction, but making no move to deepen it. Poseidon wanted to make this last. He had thought about it enough that he wanted this kiss to be perfect.

Hali felt her eyes shut and her lips part slightly. But not as much as she felt his wondrously firm lips brush across hers. She tilted her head back, telling him silently that she was ready for more. Now that this was happening, she didn't want it to stop. Her silly little daydreams were being proven true and now those dreams didn't feel so silly. Just unreal. And this felt very real.

When he felt her relax against him, his arm around her waist tightened more. The hand that held hers linked her fingers through his and brought it up in-between their bodies, pressing against her heart. Poseidon brought his lips down more firmly against hers, testing, tasting and enjoying. The gentle kiss that had been started had quickly turned into something more, something much hotter than expected.

His mouth no longer tamely brushed across her lips, now they nipped and caressed, soothing along the length only to return and tug on her bottom lip. Hali moaned, taking her hand from his and buried it into his hair, shifting to get closer to him. The arm around her waist weaved around her, bringing her more on top of him. That hand swept down and stayed possessively at the small of her back, pressing her as close to his side as she could get. The other hand shifted into her loose hair, cupping her head, and he groaned into her mouth.

"Silk, your hair is silk," Poseidon breathed against her cheek before he kissed over to ear and caught the lobe in between his teeth. The gentle but firm tug he gave caused Hali to moan and to lose whatever small control she had over herself. She brought both her hands up to his cheeks and held him while she kissed him with all she had.

Poseidon felt her slipping and groaned into her mouth. He was so damn strung tight. She would go as far as he wanted to push her. And he wanted to push her all the way. The Gods know he did. Instead he deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth and scrapping it along hers. Hali responded enthusiastically, following his leads and giving back as good as she got, dragging her hands down and over his chest, the muscles jumping and flexing of their own accord. She knew what she wanted.

Meaning that she had had some experience before. Poseidon growled at himself. He shouldn't care! But he did, and he was jealous. Jealous of the fact that he was not her first kiss. Jealous of the fact that she may not be a virgin. Jealous of the fact that she may have wanted any other man besides him. Determined to push anyone else from her mind, he shifted, trying to drive anyone else from her mind.

But it didn't work out. Poseidon had forgotten where they were, and he hit his head against the low ceiling, a grunt of pain leaving his lips, his hand flying to the back of his head. Hali's eyes opened wide and a large smile spread across her lips. And she laughed up at him. Poseidon stopped rubbing his head, his forehead wrinkled in thought and astonishment. He didn't ever recall any woman laughing during his lovemaking. It was... different.

"Oh, I did that too. Does it hurt terribly?" Hali brought her hands up to his head and rubbed gently in his hair. Poseidon silently shook his head, gazing down at her. She was lying beneath him, her hair spread all around her, her lips swollen from his kisses. There was no question that he wanted her. Thankfully she wasn't able to feel that. And while he was aroused, he acknowledged that this wasn't the time or place, something was happening that he didn't know about. Besides he didn't just want to have sex. He wanted more. He wanted the companionship that she was giving.

"I am fine," Poseidon dropped his head down and nuzzled the gorgeous cream and gold skin of her neck. He rolled to his side and pulled her into his body. They stayed there, and Poseidon breathed in her scent, his cheek against the top of her head, feeling her contentment and peace seeping into his body. She continued to run her fingers through his hair, soothing him in a way he hadn't know he wanted. She had her head against his neck, breathing deeply and humming slightly.

Suddenly, Hali tensed and lifted her head off of his shoulder. "Wait... what is this place?" She gazed around their cramped surrounding, taking in the air vents and the swaying motion. "I don't remember what happened," She looked back up at him, her forehead furrowed. "Why are we here?"

Poseidon smoothed his hand down her hair and cupped her cheek. "I don't know. I do know that I was drugged, and so I am guessing you were too." He brought her head back to his shoulder and folded her in his arms, tucking her as close as possible. He liked this feeling, this contentment. Just holding her and the rocking of the... thing they were in.

"Yes, I think so." She said against his neck. The play of her lips against his sensitive skin made him shiver. "The ballroom went black and then I was grabbed. Ugh, I feel like such a wimp. I didn't put up much of a fight," She scrunched up her nose with a look of mocking self-disgust. Poseidon laughed down at her. She just looked so adorable. He couldn't resist kissing her. Just a quick brush across her lips.

Her face smoothed out and a shy look of happiness spread there. She hesitantly placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Poseidon was about to oblige her, happily, with some more heated kisses, but their transport lurched to a stop and they were rocked a bit harshly.

"Wha..." Poseidon quickly laid a finger against her lips, hearing footsteps and indistinct voices. There was a bit of a ruckus, some banging and harsh sounding words. Finally, the roof of their compartment opened, letting in bright light, and an indistinguishable face peered down at them.

"Time to get out", the man there stated.


	24. Chapter 24

Poseidon sat up and looked around, motioning for Hali to stay still. They were in the back of a carriage, where luggage would have been stored. For this trip there was none, which did not bode very well for them. The man who had let them out was standing just a little off to the left, keeping an eye on them, his hands resting on his sheathed sword. Poseidon scowled at him. If it weren't for the ring, the man would have had to contend with a flock of angry sea birds... or a tidal wave. Clenching his jaw at his own hopelessness, Poseidon scanned their surroundings.

They were on an unkempt road. To one side there was a small clearing with a bedraggled house before the ground sloped up to steep hills for as far as the eye could see. On the other was a rocky ledge before an abrupt cliff drop to the ocean. In front of the house was a gathering of men, some dressed nicely without shirts, indicating that they had infiltrated the matrimonial ball, others were dressed roughly, and almost all had ruthless, unemotional expressions across their face. And they were all carrying swords at their waist, scanning the road and surroundings.

"Come out! Don't try and think of escaping," the man noticed Poseidon's shifting gaze, "there are too many man posted around for you to outrun. Now! Out!"

Poseidon pulled himself out of the carriage, dropping smoothly to the ground. "Let me help you," he said, holding his hand out for her to take. "I don't know what to do yet, but I am thinking," he whispered to her as he pulled her out.

Hali pushed her tousled, sun bleached hair back out of her face and placed her hand in his, squeezing gently. "I know you will," she whispered up to him, gazing at him trustingly with her hazel... green... no, Caribbean-colored eyes. Right now, with her navy blue dress, her eyes appeared a bright teal. Poseidon felt a band tighten around his chest. He would do whatever possible to get her out of this trouble.

Once he had her out of the carriage, he placed her closely to his side, tucking her under his shoulder. He gazed challengingly at the man, unflinching.

Tightening his grip on his sword, the man indicated the large cluster of men. "Go there. No rushed movements," he clipped out, coming up behind them. Two more men came around from the hidden side of the carriage and stood on either side. These men really weren't risking any chance of them escaping. Poseidon thought furiously. This must be a larger conspiracy than a hastily planned outrage. There was too much secrecy. But why were they involved? How were they considered dangerous to these men?

As they neared the group it became apparent that there was a heated discussion happening at the center. A woman's voice rose above the men's, not yelling, but stating firmly. "I demand to know what is to happen to me. You claim that I am to be murdered. Well, I would like to know who you are all taking commands from!"

"The Queen!" Hali gasped, looking up to him, startled but understanding dawning. "How are we involved in this kidnapping?" She bit her lip and thought some more. Shaking her head, she slowed her walking and talked quietly to Poseidon. "We did arrive on a powerboat, something that is not normal here. But it seems as if they occasionally have strangers show up. They had a whole system; they didn't treat us with the complete animosity that I would have expected. So strangers aren't rare. But why are we singled out?" She growled if frustration. "It makes no sense!"

Poseidon shook his head and smoothed his hand down her spine. "I think that we shouldn't talk right now." He looked down at her, a frown creasing his forehead. "There are too many unknown factors."

By this time they were close enough to the group to see the Queen being held by the elbow by a man with his back to them, while she verbally harassed a man who appeared to be in some authority sneered at her.

Hali gasped and stiffened. She recognized the man. "You were the one that pushed me!" Anger boiled out of her and she started towards him. "You gave me a concussion! You-" Poseidon grabbed her about the waist and brought her back against his body.

"Hali!" Poseidon leaned down and spoke into her ear. "You have to stop! You are making the men here too nervous!" True enough to his words, the men all around them, about eight, had all tensed up and were awaiting orders. Some had even pulled their swords. Hali nodded, took a deep breath and stepped away, showing that she was in control of herself again.

"And so you drag two innocent people into this too! This is unaccountable!" The Queen had turned as far as the man holding her elbow would let her. Whipping back around, she glared at the man holding her and smacked at his hand. "As if I could get away! Let me be!"

The man dropped her elbow and turned towards them, keeping the Queen's movements in close watch. Hali recognized him as well. "Rogan? I thought your name was James?" The man she had danced with at the ball, handsome and still wearing his shirtless attire, only now armed with a wicked looking sword, stared at the scene around him with no expression.

The Queen, who had started to head towards them, anger and pride etched on her face stopped and turned slowly. "James? It appears that there are a number of things that are hidden about you Rogan. Are you not Rogan Lefield? From the Lefield family of warriors? Are you not the first healer mage that has come to Atlantis in a long time? Or have you been lying?" She slowly strode up to him, glaring and spitting out her words as if they were poison. The man stared straight ahead, his gaze above her head. The slight breeze that came off the ocean ruffled his hair, but otherwise his body was as still as the rocks they were standing on. "Are you not the man who was handpicked and trained by his adoptive family to be a body guard? Have you been lying this whole time?"

She was now standing directly in front of him, and even though she was quite a bit shorter than him, she was intimidating. Despite the fact that her blond hair was a mess, her ice blue gown ripped and stained, she emanated an aura. She was the Queen. And she showed it. The wind whipped her hair around her, appearing as if the weather was obeying her commands, moving to her will and anger. She was a daunting sight. Even the rabble of ruthless cutthroats around them did not move or speak.

No one spoke for some time. The Queen kept up her stare, one blond brow raised, her head tilted at a haughty angle, her posture straight and her hands by her side. Finally the man spoke, although he did not move his gaze. "My family is Lefield. My name is Rogan."

The Queen cocked her head and stared at him a little more. Then slowly she nodded her head once. "Very well," at this she turned towards them, her gaze seeking Hali's. "Are you well?" She walked up to them, keeping her back towards the man whom Hali now knew as Rogan. "For our sake, I would like to be informed what is going on." She demanded, speaking loudly and clearly.

The blond man, who was clearly an idiot, laughed at the Queen. "You are in no position to be making demands. But they will be answered soon." The man swaggered over to the Queen, who kept her back towards him, refusing to be cowed by the man. "Our commander has felt a need to see you himself before he kills you. He wants to show you just how far this goes!" The man laughed once more, eerily, sending shivers down Hali's spine. She took a small step back until she was against Poseidon's chest. He silently wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to give her comfort.

The blond man spoke once more. "Take The Queen into the building," He commanded snidely. Two men immediately seized her elbows and started to pull her away. "Now these other two. Rogan told me that the girl has magic. Either way, we need to get rid of them. They have seen too much." Men stepped around them, pulling Hali away from the comfort of Poseidon.

A man grabbed her, pulling her head up and back, placing a sharp object against her throat. She had no doubt about what it was. The other arm wrapped around her rib cage, trapping her arms against her body.

Poseidon struggled against the men surrounding him. He immediately punched the man who was closest and spun around to confront the man to his back. Kicking out he sent the man to the ground. Hali watched the remaining three men pulled their swords, carefully circling Poseidon, wary now.

"Ah, now I wouldn't think that you would want to continue with this fight." The man who was holding her spoke, his breath whistled past her ear, drawing Poseidon's gaze towards him. The man's hand tightened, pressing the knife into her neck more. Hali couldn't help it, she shivered.

She watched as Poseidon dropped his guard, his gaze fixed on her face. His expression was emotionless, but she saw the anger and self-loathing there. The three men immediately surrounded him, putting away their swords, taking hold of his arms and brutally thrusting them behind him and forcing him down so that he was kneeling on the rocky ground. One of the men pulled out rope and tightly bound his arms.

"Well, that was rather impressive." The blond man drawled, toeing the man whom Poseidon had punched. The man was still lying on the ground, knocked out. "I don't know many people who could have done that." Here the man laughed, the crazed noise making a skitter of fear crawl down Hali's spin. "Except for me of course!" Then, before Hali could cry out the man pulled out his sword and brought the butt down against Poseidon's head.

"Poseidon!" Hali cried out, moving in the man's' arms. He just tightened his hold more. Poseidon's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to his side. Hali's breath came in quick gasps, her fear not letting her breath any more. She watched with wide, stunned eyes as the blond man knelt down and looked at Poseidon. "I knew I could do it."

Hali watched as the man brought his cold eyes up to her face and grinned evilly. "Why don't we throw them over the cliff?" The three men immediately hauled Poseidon up from the ground and started carting him towards the nearby cliff edge.

For some reason Hali could not tear her gaze away from the man who was clearly enjoying her fear. She couldn't stop staring while the man holding her roughly moved her towards the cliff edge. However, once she was at the cliff ledge, she couldn't tear her eyes from the unconscious Poseidon laying a few feet from the ledge beside her. Her brain was not working, her body not moving. She barely heard the voice that said "Her first."

And then she felt a push and then herself falling. She barely recognized that the voice screaming as her own. She could only stare as the ocean, the bright crystal blue showing the beauty of the Caribbean waters and reflecting the perfect day that it was. The perfect ocean, the one thing that had always seemed to give her life, came closer to bring her death.

And she could do nothing to stop it.


	25. Chapter 25

As the water rushed towards Hali, she snapped out of her daze, realizing that her mouth was still open in a scream. Quickly bringing her arms up, she crossed them over her face, and waited for the impact, praying like crazy, praying that the impact with the water wouldn't break her neck.

She slapped the water, parallel to it, white hot pain shooting through every part of her body, knocking any air she had gathered out of her lungs. And as she sank beneath the turquoise waters her vision blacked out and her body refused to cooperate. Her brain was screaming at her arms and legs to move, but they were still numb.

Hali struggled with her body, trying to make it do something. She flailed around; her eye's trained on the surface, the crystal sun brilliant above. Her legs, still numb, refused to move, apparently tangled in her long skirt. She could feel her brain shutting down, and her whole existence narrowed down to just one thing, getting air into her lungs. Her arms clawed through the water, straining for the surface. But she was too far down, too weak to make it. Hali closed her eyes and gave into her body's need for air, and sucked in water.

***

Artemis slowly walked beside Jace, her hands locked behind her back. They were shaking, she realized, in a daze. And she knew that she should be. She was about to do something so unacceptable. Zeus would be furious with her, demeaning that she give some sort of payment. But it would be worth it. Her lips pulled down in a fierce frown. It had to be worth it.

She glanced under her eyelashes at the man beside her. He had lost weight, not eating or sleeping nearly enough. His eyes, which had been shadowed before now looked haunted. Every day since Hali's disappearance, Jace had gone out looking for her. It had been five days, no sign, no trace, nothing.

His shoulders were tight, his limp more pronounced, his features stark and his expression tight with worry and self-loathing. The only time he ever fully relaxed was when he held her, kissed her.

Then the look in his beautiful brown eyes softened, wonder and amazement spread through, calming both of them. Last night he had taken her to a nice restaurant, determined to give her a wonderful, carefree night. And it had been wonderful, but for different reasons. The place they went to had been inhabited by the rich, American people who came to this island to vacation. And as such, the rich men there had believed that they could get whatever they wanted. And one man had looked at her, and latched on.

Then the look in Jace's eyes had told her whatever she had wanted to know. There was a fierce possessiveness; he had been possessive of her! The man, and frankly Artemis could not recall what he looked like or even the man's name, had come over and introduced himself. He started flirting with her, asking if he could buy her a drink. Artemis had kept her eyes on Jace, telling him without words that she would never choose to go with the man.

"Can't you see that she doesn't seem interested? Now go buzz off, and leave us be." Jace had stated, his tone final, almost mockingly. The words were, but he was acting a perfect gentleman.

"Well, she isn't saying no. She is probably just measuring you up. She will come with me in no time. Isn't that right? God, I love read hair! Redheads are so… passionate." The man's voice had been slimy with innuendos and Artemis had made a face, still keeping her eye's trained with his.

"Do you want to leave?" Jace spoke to her, low and soothing. She nodded just once and stood up, going to the opposite side that the damn man was standing at.

Jace stood up and held out his arm, a perfect gentleman. Artemis couldn't help herself, a full blown smile spread across her face. He was so wonderful! He tucked her into his side, and they started to walk away.

"Oh god! He has a limp!" The man burst out laughing. "Oh man, you are just a gimp! Oh, you and your bitch deserve each other!" Jace had gone rigid at her side, anger unlike she had ever see spread across his face, fury apparent in every muscle of his body as he dropped her arm and turned around slowly. The tables around them had gone dead silent, and suspense was thick in the air.

"Don't you ever call her that," Jace growled out, his voice low and threatening. "She is a Goddess. Beyond me, yes, but miles beyond you. You don't even deserve the right to look at her." The tension was physical, fury obvious. But Artemis had melted.

He had been angry about her! Oh gods! He hadn't taken insult to his limp, he had been angry about what the man had said about her! And it had hit her right then. She loved him. She loved him.

Jace turned his back on the man and walked up to her. She had tears in her eyes and a radiant smile on her face. Jace stopped right in front of her. His eyes greedily ran all over her face, talking in ever feature, lingering on her smile. His face and body relaxed, and he slowly brought one hand up, and gently raised her chin. Still staring into her eyes, he gave her the most romantic kiss she had ever had. Slow and sweet, soft and comforting, giving and taking, promising and loving. He pulled back slightly and smiled down at her. She was still dazed, gazing at him in wonder, her lips trembling.

He turned slightly. "And as for my limp, she still chose me over you." Jace raked his gaze down the other man, "But by the looks of you, I am not too surprised." Then he put his arm around her waist and tucked her into his side, leading her towards the door.

Artemis heard whispers around them, and more than a few feminine sighs. Jace had just won ever female heart in the room, with his protective nature, the way that he obviously appreciated her, and the beautiful kiss that he had given her. And she had realized that he had had her heart. From the first moment that she met him.

Which was why she was so determined to do this. Hali had pushed Jace into her life… and she owed her for it. She took a deep breath.

"Jace, we need to talk. I have to tell you something extremely important." He stopped and spun quickly, panic in his eyes and on his face.

"You aren't leaving, are you? You have been here almost a week, and most people stay a week and-" Artemis stepped into his body, wrapping one arm around his waist and bringing her other hand up to his mouth, stopping his flow of words. His arms wrapped around her, and he did it without though, as if it was a habit. A wonderful habit.

"No, I am not leaving. It is more to do with what I am. When I tell you this, you have to promise me that our relationship won't change too much. I understand that it will change some things but…" Artemis sighed out. And then tightened her resolve. "I am the goddess Artemis. I am immortal. Poseidon is my uncle, the god of the sea. Which is why I know that Hali hasn't drowned, why I know that she is safe with him. Please, don't let this change anything!"

Artemis dropped her head down on his chest, praying to fates that his feelings wouldn't change. Praying with all that was in her that he wouldn't stop caring for her. She didn't know if he loved her, but, gods, she loved him so much!

A large hand came up, and smoothed down her fiery curls, gently. Jace tilted her face up. He was calm; there was no anger or disbelief. "I knew. Well," He admitted with a self-depreciating smile and shrug, "I didn't know that you were The Goddess Artemis, but I knew you were regal, magical, beautiful, and wonderful." He frowned down at her. "But forgive me; I think that I need proof. Can you show me something?"

Artemis glanced around and pulled him into the empty dive shop. She took a breath and changed her shorts and tank top into her formal toga, her crest on her shoulder. The deep blue with a golden bow and arrow shimmered across it. Jace, with a wondering expression, reached up to touch it. An electric shock went through his hand, and he swore he could hear others talking, but there was no sound. He brought his gaze back up to hers. "Show me something else."

Artemis showed her wings. She didn't like them as much, but they were stunning. She preferred to run, outrunning practically everything, but it was often necessary to fly places. She stretched out her white feathered wings, groaning slightly as they cramped. She hadn't used them in a little while.

Jace walked around her, brushing his hands along the soft feathers. Artemis shivered slightly. When he came back to her front, she changed back to what she had been wearing. And stood, biting her lip, waiting for his reaction.

He wrapped his arms around her tighter and brought his lips down to her forehead. "Gosh, it all makes so much more sense now. All of the facts were there before me, weren't they?" He whispered his lips against her forehead. "This doesn't change much. You are still the prize that I knew you were. I would rather not think about some of the… issues."

Artemis sagged into him, her face buried into his shoulder, tears coming to her eyes again and she clung to him. Artemis knew what he was talking about. She would do whatever possible to save him. To make him live forever, Artemis swore to Zeus she would try whatever she had to. Artemis lifted her face up to Jace, and he pressed another beautiful kiss to her lips.

"Jace," she said, never breaking the contact of their lips, "what about Hali? Can you trust my uncle to take care of her?" She kept her eyes closed, wanting to feel him. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"If you say he is the god of the sea, then I have no doubt that he will protect her, probably from her own foolishness." Artemis opened her eyes and glowed, at his ability to trust in her and her family. Jace's head dipped down and he kissed her, telling her without words.

From the back room, David grinned wildly at his son and his Goddess. "Finally! She should have told him the truth days ago." He turned and whistled as he walked out the back door. He wasn't worried about Hali. His daughter was part fish, after all. Literally. And who better to look after her than the God of the Sea. Poseidon would help her find her past, and possibly her future. A sad smile spread out, as he remembered the past. Maybe now she would come and find him. He had given up hope years ago, tried to move on, but seeing as there were two gods around her, maybe the gods would let her find him again. Maybe, just maybe. David walked towards the water, whistling all the while.


	26. Chapter 26

Hali gave into her body's demand for air. She couldn't help it, her mind had shut down, and just this melodic voice going around in her head speaking a language that she could not understand. It was lilting and sweet and high and it soothed her before she knew she was going to die. So she opened her mouth and inhaled, water rushing into her mouth.

And her lungs filled up with air.

Hali stopped moving completely, but her body demanded that she keep breathing. So she panted, water in her mouth and oxygen, pure sweet, dry oxygen, filling up her oxygen starved lungs. Hey body floated down from the clear Caribbean blue waters and rested on the sandy floor.

Her mind still mostly in shock, Hali laid back and tentatively opened her eyes, staring up at the surface. What in Heaven's name is happening here?! Hali realized that her eyes didn't sting. This was salt water, and she had never been able to open her eye's underwater without there being sharp stings from the salt. Hali wrinkled her brow and tried to remember if her eyes had hurt when she was drowning… or thought she was. But apparently that had been the least of her body's problems, she couldn't remember. And she could see so much better, farther and clearer. She knew how far it was to the surface, about 200 feet. That cliff she was dropped off sure was large. She was supposed to have died. She tried not to shiver when she thought of how many people must have died from that drop.

Closing her eyes again, Hali took stock of the rest of her body. The silken mess around her body would have to come off; it was too heavy and was going to be very hard to move in. It would be hard to take off too, unfortunately. Good thing for her, though, that Atlanteans had what they called breast pads. They wrapped around like a strapless bra, but where tighter and actually stayed up. Then they had underwear like things that were more shorts, but they would work.

Hali moved her arms, flexing the fingers and elbows. Yep, everything worked there. Her body was a little stiff from hitting the surface of the water, but nothing that she couldn't work off with a little bit of a swim. Next, Hali moved down to her legs. They seemed… off. They were… longer… and loose… and ATTACHED!

Hali snapped open her eyes and shoved herself up. Beneath the hem of her racked up gown was a long single, pale green tail. Oh dear Gods! She was a MERMAID! Hali's breath came back in sporadic leaps and gulps. She had a tail… she could breathe underwater. She was a freaking mermaid! How was this even possible?!

Hali moved her… tail, testing it out. The tip of it curled towards her, the bottom of it narrowed down until she could have encircled it with her two hands, and then flared out to a delicate upside down triangle. It wasn't like The Little Mermaids tail, with its perfect two points. The sides weren't identical, and there were a number of dips and edges… like the Amy Brown mermaids. Hali stared at her new legs and tilted her head. Actually, a lot like the Amy Brown mermaids. She raised an eyebrow. Someone knows more than she is letting out. They were way too similar.

She tilted her head and stared at her tail. It didn't feel like there were any bones in there, here, just all muscle and tissue. The… skin… of the tail felt like a support structure. Hali moved her tail back and forth, bringing the end of it up, and then dipping the frilled end down to the sand floor. It really would be a snap to swim, the power of her tail would whip her through the water and the frilled end of it would work so well as a flipper.

She brought her hands forward and rubbed them down the smooth skin. The blue-green tail wasn't scales exactly, just very smooth and slightly rough to the touch. Touching it was just like touching her normal, everyday skin.

Sun glinted down from the waves above, making rippling patterns across her body. Hali leaned back her head and took a deep breath. Her body had accepted that she could breathe underwater, but her mind was still in shock. She knew that she should be freaked out, but she just couldn't muster up the shock. She had, after all, just a few days ago found out that Atlantis was a real place. Hali frowned slightly. If she were dreaming she would have woken up by now right?

She glanced back down at her new appendage, and the light from above caught the glitter of the ring on her hands. Hali brought the left hand up to her face and ran her fingers over the blue metal. Underwater, the ring seemed even more vibrant, giving off more glints in the sun. The pure pearls seemed to shine with an inner light, the seaweed of emeralds and the shimmer of the sapphire water catching every ray of the elusive sun. In fact, the ring seemed to glow. Yes, Hali tilted her head to the side, it was giving off light, glowing. Just like when they had been attacked at the Matrimonial Ball.

Was this magic too? Hali shook her head in wonderment, but she couldn't be surprised. And after all, no matter how hard she had tried, it just hadn't come off. Why even-

A large slap from the surface bolted Hali's gaze upwards, her body tensing, ready for anything. Slowly a large object floated down, unmoving. Her heightened eyesight immediately caught the bright gold of his hair and the broad shoulders that were hunched in crushing defeat.

Poseidon! Hali pushed off of the sandy floor, bursting forward with all of her power. Which did not get her very far. She tried to do a fast crawl, but she didn't think about how she didn't have two different legs now. She only had one.

Quickly changing her tactics, she switched to the dolphin kick, crawling with her arms. And she shot off. For an instant she was marveled by how quickly she was swimming. Man, were there some powerful muscles in her tail! That thought was quickly dashed from her mind when she saw Poseidon turn slowly onto his side as he was sinking. His mouth was open, his eyes closed. He looked… dead.

"No!" Hali shouted, unaware that her voice actually carried in the water, scaring a small school of fish swimming nearby. She sprinted as fast as her new body would take her.

Hali came up underneath him, bringing one arm around his chest and the other behind his head. His large body still retained the motion of the drop, sinking him farther down. Staring at his strained features, she whispered over and over again, "Oh gods, oh gods".

Hali wasn't really sure of what was happening around her. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Her chest felt achingly tight, as if someone had put a metal vise around her and was now cranking it tighter. His beautiful lips were parted, no air moving out of them. His eyes were closed, but his brows were still furrowed. Surely that meant that he wasn't dead, right? She moved her tail as fast as she could, aware that they were moving up to the surface. Air, he needed air! Biting her lip hard, trying not to panic, Hali reached for the surface, pulling him as fast as she could. Only a dozen more feet now!

Hali broke the surface with a gasp, praying that the magic that made her a mermaid would let her breath above water as well. She needed to focus all her attention onto him. Hauling his body up so that his face was above the water, she wrapped her right arm around his waist, her tail treading water, keeping them safe from sinking. She brought her left hand up, pushing his head back and cupping her hand under his nose. No breath.

Hali caught back a sob, trying to think. He was not awake, and he must have swallowed water. When he hit, he must have swallowed water. Hali couldn't think of anything to do when they were in the middle of the ocean. If she were on land then she could give CPR, but here? Hali, desperate for anything, whacked him on his back. Pressed on his chest on and on his stomach, even his cheeks. No water spilled out, no breath. Nothing.

Hali knew that there were tears running down her face, mixing with the salt of the ocean. So this is what this felt like. Crushing pain blocking her mind and numbness seeped through her body. She slowed her swimming, slowly sinking below the waves. Her breath caught in sobs, her tears washed away before they truly even fell.

Their bodies had sunk to the sandy floor. She hated it now. Laying him back, sat next to him, tracing his face. "Oh no. This is so not real. He is not…" Hali bit her trembling lips, stopping the words, stopping the thought.

Hali ran her hand down the side of his cheek. He really was perfect. Everything she had ever dreamed about. His strong, square jaw and straight nose. These beautiful lips that had kissed her only once. Hali felt her heart tear at the thought that she wouldn't be able to kiss him again. She lifted her trembling hands up to his eyes and smoothed them gently over his closed lashes. So perfect and golden.

Hali grasped one of his hands tightly in between hers and brushed a kiss along his knuckles. The skin was cracked and broken from where he had fought with the men above. The ones that had thrown them into this place. He had fought for their freedom. Hali clenched her jaw and sat still for a split second. Then she snapped open her eyes and determination filled her.

She was a mermaid. That was magic. And surely that meant that she had some within her. Hadn't that unpleasant man above said something about her being a witch? Hali recalled all of the stories that she had heard about mermaids. Stories in which mermaids had kissed sailors, and how the sailors could then breathe underwater.

Hali knelt down close to Poseidon's side, and tilted back his head, getting ready for CPR. Breathing out through her mouth to get rid of any water that was in there, Hali then took a breath through her nose. Bringing her head down, she sealed her open mouth over his, pinching his nose shut. Then she breathed into him. Taking another breath, she did it again.

Poseidon's body convulsed and water came rushing out of his lungs in great coughs.


	27. Chapter 27

Danielle slowly walked towards the old, broken farm house. Beside her, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword, Rogan walked with a cool detachment that she had never known. Or perhaps she was only now noticing. He had lied, called himself by a different name, James, and betrayed her. She was too far away to see what was happening with the woman and man, Hali and Poseidon? But she knew that these circumstances were not very good. She had been told that she was to be killed.

Inside Danielle quivered in fear. No one looked forward to their death, and she was no exception. As the rotting wood of the old house came closer, she felt her steps faltering and her breath came in shorter gasps. No! She couldn't just blindly walk to her death! She had to do something! Her eyes wide, Danielle quickly scanned the surrounding area. The farm house stood in the center of her vision, dark and gloomy, the windows broken and the lines slopped. To the left was the narrow road that ran along the cliff edges. Unless she had a horse or carriage, anyone would easily overtake her on that. To the right was an apple orchard with few remaining trees. Once past that small area, the ground sloped up to hills that gradually led to mountains. From her knowledge of the kingdom, she mentally placed together where she must be. If the carriage had never turned around, then they would be along the East side of Atlantis. And based on how close the mountains were to the ocean edge, they were closer to the southern part of the island than the northern. For the carriage to have gotten this far, they must have been traveling for at about two days.

Danielle shivered. The nearest place she could go would be to one of the towns along the south coast. And the people there would have no happiness with "outsiders", especially one such as her. It was true that she had never been to the southern part of the island, her advisers forcefully rejecting her thoughts of visiting. The South was known for its rough ways and its hateful attitude.

Their history shows that a god, before Atlantis was cloaked from the outside world, once had bestowed powers of might to his mortal son. This son, angry that his father was a god and that he gained no superior abilities besides his "paltry" gift, decided that if he could not be a god among gods, then he would be one among men. The man involved so many countries and so many technologies that the gods became infuriated with him. So while the man was campaigning on the country of Atlantis, the gods captured the man, and sealed him off from the rest of the world. Unfortunately for Atlantis, that meant that their island country was sealed away as well.

The man went insane; he couldn't take being trapped on the island knowing that his father and the other gods banished him there. The island was his; there was nothing else for him to do. To the north, where the current capital of the island country, also known as Atlantis, rested, the natives resisted him, fighting back. But their power was little, and so he remained ruler of the island, but still not a god. Finally, in one of his insane fits, the man drowned himself in the spring that fed the cities to the south. The man had a mortal body, but an immortal power. The father's gift of power diffused throughout the water, and was transferred over, in extremely decreased amounts, to a number of the citizens.

The people there now possessed a god's power, and the southern part of Atlantis became known for its fearful magic's and attitudes. There were, of course some good people who became possessed with this power. Such as Rogan's family, the Lefields. They possessed an unnatural affinity for fighting, and they took a stance against the foreign tyrants, and helped to side with the native monarch. Without the powerful leader of the past, Atlantis reverted back to its native people. Many people thought that once the Atlantians were back in power, the gods would lift the ban on them. Nothing happened. Everyone concluded that since the man's power still remained, then there could still be cause for trouble.

And so Atlantis moved forward, but the past lived on. The power manifested itself in many different people, but it has an affinity for those who harbored evil. The people to the south harbored their secrets and their hatred, and few left the southern cities and few northerners went down there.

The crippled house loomed closer, and Danielle darted her glance to the side, towards the apple orchard and up the steep hills. If she could get ahead of the men, she could stand a chance. The horses wouldn't last long on such steep terrain, and there were trees farther up that she could hide in.

Glancing under her eyelashes she watched the men who were escorting her. There were three of them, Rogan included. Danielle eyed the muscles on display on the men, all of them wearing the matrimonial costume. She furrowed her brow. Why would they still be wearing them two days later? Giving her head a quick shake, she brought her attention to back to her immediate problem. In just a second they would reach a nice gap in the trees, where it appeared that she would be able to run straight under the branches, but the taller men would have to duck down, slowing their speed. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and picking up the hem of her skirt, Danielle bunched up the muscles in her legs and turned towards the orchard and...

A sharp piercing scream shattered her concentration, making her coiled body jerk and almost fall. Instead of sprinting towards the hills, her body whipped around to face the noise. Once she caught a glimpse of what was taking place the blood drained from her face and any breath she had in her body left in a gasp. She felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. The two men who had been holding the woman were standing at the cliffs edge, smirking and gazing over the edge, jesting as if this was all a big joke. Another two men were holding up the obviously unconscious man and laughing at the woman careening towards the water.

Just then a loud smack was heard as the woman's body hit the water. Hali... Danielle's body wouldn't cooperate with her. Her breath came in pants, her vision darkened, and the utmost humiliation, her knees turned to water. Danielle slumped towards the ground.

Hands grabbed her before she hit. One around her waist and one over her chest. They brought her back against a broad chest, locking her in place. She became aware just as the villains pushed the large man off the edge as well.

"No!" Danielle found her strength again, and she clawed at the man holding her. "How could you do this?! Why?!" She twisted and turned against the firm grip, trying to get towards the water's edge. She didn't know what she would do, but she had to do something! She couldn't just let them die! No!

The man holding her bodily picked her up and carted her towards the sloping door of the house, towards the dark and her death. Danielle fought the entire short walk, shouting things, screaming. She didn't know what she was saying, just anything, anything to get her back there to help. Anything to not share their fate.

Rogan stood stone faced on the porch, holding open the door to let the man holding her past. Danielle was engulfed within the black, and her instincts kicked in even more. Adrenaline flowed through her veins, and she kicked, clawed, and bit at the arms and the man holding her, but she was at an extreme disadvantage. Danielle heard the door shut, and the room became even darker. She also vaguely heard a man speak. Something she knew she would not want to hear.

She finally kicked back at the correct angle with her heel to catch the man right beneath his knee, causing his leg to buckle. His arms slackened, and Danielle tore herself away, turning around and running towards the door. Another man came into her vision, and Danielle swerved away from him. A hand grabbed her skirt, ripping the fabric and slowing her down slightly. Another hand came forward and clamped around her nose and mouth. Again she was trapped.

Danielle's body went slack and her mind slid into a hazy field. What was happening what was going on? Finally the hand lifted from her face and she saw a white cloth in the man's palm. Oh, Danielle thought hazily, oh... I've been drugged... again.

Her legs crumpled and she fell to the floor, but she was able to stay upright. The man hadn't given her enough to make her pass out. Just to calm her down... or perhaps it was a botched job? Danielle looked hazily around the room. Rogan and another man came towards her, and to the corner of the room the rest of the men had gathered around a table, were a number of food stuffs lay. They all laughed and drank, tearing into the spread.

Rogan reached down and scooped her up, and marched towards another door leading to a back room, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. Danielle stared at his impassive face... as if she meant nothing to him either... Her head spinning, Danielle stared up at him, trying to make sense of the past couple of days. Wrinkling her brow she traced his profile with her gaze. She had once dreamed about him... once thought that she loved him in a silly school girl way. She remembered the day that he first came to work for her. He had been silent... wearing a mask of blankness... but nothing like his expression now. This one was... cold. Without an inch of mercy. His mouth... Danielle decided fuzzily... before it used to curve upwards slightly. But now... the lines of his lips were just... straight... hard...

Danielle brought her arm up to his face and gently drew her finger along the bottom curve of his lip. Rogan jolted, stopping, his face slipped into surprise and his eyes snapped down to hers. His cold mask of a face, the face that she did not know, disappeared for a second. His eyes stared straight again once more and the face that she hated came back. She felt him shift and then a slight pause before he called out to whoever was in the back room, "I have her".

Danielle dropped her gaze and tried to clear the drug from her brain. What had she been thinking? He wasn't the Rogan she had thought he was... he was... against her. Would kill her.

The door to the back room opened, its light yellow, but sinister. She knew that whatever behind this door would lead to her death. Danielle clenched her jaw and sucked in a breath as Rogan moved forward.


	28. Chapter 28

The room was lighter than the one that she had just been brought in from, and yet the man sitting before the fire engulfed all of the light, all of the air. The room was skewed, the center a sucking chasm that she was falling into. Sitting by the lit fire, the bright sun streaming through a window and falling on his form was her most trusted Chancellor, Gristock.

Danielle went rigid in Rogan's arms. And then slumped. Was this her imagination? Had the drug given her hallucinations? She blinked rapidly, but the gloating image of the loyal advisor did not fade. Danielle thought that she would throw up... except her body was not working in any normal fashion.

"Surprised? I thought that you might be. I played you rather well." Gristock stood up, his bulk just as prominent as ever. In the back of her mind, the random thought skittered through; At least he isn't wearing the formal matrimonial garb anymore. Danielle blinked as Gristock came closer. What was wrong with her?!

"Rogan, set her down" Danielle quickly found herself weaving on her own two feet, her ex-bodyguard now guarding her only escape route, and her ex-chancellor smoothing his face into the expression that he had always had. "Oh yes, your Un-Royal Majesty, we have played you for a fool this entire time. Your regime as Servant Queen began with this deception planned. Despite your common sense, you have made it quite easy for my group of... friends to become powerful. All the reforms and proposals that I helped you with? Well, they all had some little detail that just made it easier for us to gain power." Gristock had his arms crossed over expensive silk jacket and shirt, his waistcoat was opulent brocade. "And very rich."

Danielle's mind seemed to be slowly returning to her. It was there, but just not fast enough to think of something useful to help her. All she could think of was the old standby of "keep them talking to buy some time" Taking breaths to calm her churning stomach, she thought of the reforms he brought up.

"Okay," She said, looking him in his glittering eyes, "You got me. But the reforms you we discussed and passed all had to do with increasing safety, making programs for the undereducated, and to find better mining operations for the East side... I mean this side of the Island. How did you gain power from that?"

Gristock raised his eyebrow and shifted his pudgy body into a more alert position. "Impressive, Danielle. You know where we are. Then again, I was the one who helped you study those maps that you have memorized." Inside Danielle winced. She was showing her knowledge. She had to make him think that she was still drugged. "But it was very easy to take money from the Royal treasury when you gave me full access."

"I reviewed the spending costs... how did you take money without me knowing?" There, that would put him at ease once more. Despite not knowing his true intentions this entire time, she did know him. She knew what he would do or say in most situations. Just because he fooled her, making her think that she could trust him... while the entire time he was planning on killing her. Oh gods that made her sound really pathetic... and stupid.

Danielle was correct, though. His body shifted again, leaning back onto one leg, and his arms came up to cross over his chest. "It was easy to tell you that people were stupider than we had planned, so everything needed to be multiplied a bit more, or that there needed to be a new leader of something. The new powerful people were all, of course, in my little group. But that is neither here nor there. You just were not able to see them, poor little servant girl, suffering from delusions of grandeur."

Danielle clenched her jaw in anger. "You keep calling me servant, putting me into such an inferior role. Why do you claim such a high standing?" Danielle sighed in relief as the world around her became normal... ish. The air around Gristock still seemed to be darker, and the air more acrid. But the drug had almost completely worn off. "Why are you so important?"

Gristock's face lost the imperious look that had rested there, and anger took its place. "I am the rightful King. I am the one who should rule." He laughed shortly, "I am the direct descendant of Vincent du L'Angrin."

"Who?" Danielle knew though. Oh, yes, she was well aware of the name of the man who caused Atlantis to be shut off from the world. She was aware of the man who contained so much power that the Gods shut him away to stop his rivalry with them. And she also knew that there was nothing she could do to escape this.

A surge of green mist poured out from around Gristock, black symbols tumbling through the waves like little bugs. Danielle sucked in a breath and stepped back. As quickly as the mist poured forth, it stopped. Gristock cleared his throat and shrugged his jacket back into place. He looked her in the eye and said, "I think you know who".

Danielle's heart pounded and her lungs worked in useless little gasps. So much power! No one had that much magic. There were warriors, healers, people who were skilled at their craft, but no one wielded it like a weapon. Their magic enhanced some ability, but Gristock's... his was like no others. He really must be a descendant. "But his powers didn't transfer through to his sons. They became part of the water."

Gristock shrugged and waved a hand. "So they did, but he was the son of a God, and that blood is still in my veins. So, I am also the son of a God. And as such I demand the power that my ancestor once had."

"You don't look very God like." Danielle quickly slapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes as wide as possible. She felt the world around her darken, and she was afraid that she was going to pass out. Oh Gods, Oh Gods! How could she be so stupid?! How could she say such a thing to such a vain man?! In front of her, Gristock's face became an icy block, ice cold air poured from his body. His eyes glittered with a fanatical glow. "Rogan," his voice was oily, hard, "Take this trash out of here. We will be making a demonstration to the men. Show them what happens to people who get too big for their place." Gristock stalked out of the room, barking orders to the men waiting.

Danielle's hands dropped to her side, her head bowed down. So this was it. Her death. She shook her head. How could she be such an idiot? Blurting out whatever was on her mind. She took a deep breath and rubbed her hands on her face. Well. Okay. She squared her shoulders and looked up.

Just in time to see Rogan locking the door. He turned towards her, his handsome face set in determined lines. "Quickly! Through the window!" He ran over to it and pushed it open. Whipping around, he grabbed the chair by the fire and placed it under the window. "The ground is higher on this side; you can just step out of the window. Hurry!" He stood with his hand extended out to her, his eyes piercing and direct. For perhaps the first time, Danielle saw absolutely no mask on his face. She saw him. Rogan, the man who had stood behind her, silent but supporting and protective.

Her face crumpled and she ran quickly to his side, placing her hand into his, and gathering her skirts up with the other. Taking one last look at his determined face, she bent down under the sill and stepped down to the ground at the back of the deteriorating building. Rogan jumped out behind her, her hand still held tightly in his. "The carriage!" He nodded to where it sat on the road, and they sprinted foreword, Rogan's legs eating up the ground before them.

Danielle heard Gristock shout Rogan's name, and the talks of the men. They hadn't found out yet, but soon... very soon.

Rogan turned his head and yelled back to her, "Climb up to the front. The farther away we are from Gristock the better!" At the same time yells and alarms were raised amongst the men. They had been found out.

Danielle took deeper breaths and ran as fast as she could. Her stomach knotted in fear and she felt her hand that was holding Rogan's go numb. No doubt it was her who was squeezing so hard. Her dancing slippers became shredded, the rocks from the road biting through the delicate soles of the silk. Danielle didn't pay them any mind. To falter now was to be killed.

Just feet away from the back of the carriage, a large explosion rocked the farm house. The horses tied to their carriage cried out. Rogan had reached the bench in front of the coach and grabbed the reigns, throwing his body back into them to hold the horses from bolting. He turned quickly, picked her up by the waist with one arm and threw her onto the bench. Danielle hastily slid over, making as much room as possible to allow Rogan to swing his large body up. She grabbed the hand straps the same time he landed, the bounce to the carriage pushing the horses over the edge. They bolted.

Many horses were on the road ahead of them, and Danielle assumed that they were from the house behind them. Now that they were galloping full speed away, she took deep breaths to calm her heart and lungs. The path in front of them curved around and they would soon no longer be visible. She let out a deep breath.

The carriage rocked with a small explosion. Rogan cursed as they were thrown into each other. Danielle would have no doubt screamed if there had been any air in her lungs. "It's okay! I have seen him do that before, and it only does a little damage. We are too far away for him to do any more than that!" Rogan shouted over the clattering of the courses feet on the road. Danielle just nodded her head at him, her eyes wide and her mouth open, gasping for breath.

Rogan shot her a brilliant grin. "Didn't see that one coming did you?" Danielle just nodded her head again, too dazed to really think. She turned her eyes back to the road and worked on her breathing. In moments they were around the corner and out of sight of the farm house.


	29. Chapter 29

Danielle knelt on all fours, heaving behind a bush. Oh gods, she thought as her empty stomach tried to bring up anything. Her body trembled and tears were in her eyes. From her system having been drugged, having sustained the shock of betrayal and of almost being killed quite a few times, the heavily rocking and bumping carriage, and have not eaten in the past two days, Danielle was literally out of it. When Rogan had finally deemed them far enough away to merit a break for the horses, Danielle quickly excused herself to go to the bathroom.

So she had wandered as far as she could into the bushes and trees and promptly dropped to her knees and thrown up. And she couldn't stop. Danielle groaned in agony as her stomach tensed up in dry heaves once more. There was nothing in her stomach, only acid, and some of the drug.

"Your Highness." All of the sudden Rogan was standing somewhere behind her. Danielle groaned again, her humiliation complete. Great! Just what she needed. The perfect hero who had rescued her, witnessing her divine weakness. Just perfect. Her stomach seized up again, although not as intensely as before. Why couldn't it have stopped already? And another thing, why had he followed her if she was going to go to the bathroom? The nerve!

Rogan walked up beside her, and knelt down. He carefully and gently pulled her tangled blond hair up from where it was dangling down around her head and trailing onto the ground. Oh, she prayed to the gods that what little she had brought up had not gotten on her hair. It would be horrible to have it in her hair when she doubted that they had time for her to wash it out. Then Danielle colored up quickly, her face burning brightly. Why was he doing this? This was embarrassing enough!

Rogan kept one hand around her hair, holding it loosely so that it was off her face. Then his other hand soothed up and down her back, gently. Danielle pushed her nausea aside as best as she could. After three more heaves, her stomach finally settled enough for her to take a deep breath. And then another one. Apparently it had passed.

Danielle lifted her head up and took a few shuddering breaths. Then she carefully sat back onto her heals, her back still to the man who was being so considerate and embarrassing her to Hades. Rogan dropped his hands, and so Danielle scooted around until she sagged against the base of a tree, bringing her own up to wipe at the tears on her face. She couldn't look at Rogan, her face bright red with her blush. Instead she took stock of herself.

Her pretty ice blue dress now had dirt and grass stains on the knees to add to the blood on her bodice and the ripped hems. The original color was hard to ascertain, the material was so stained. Her silk dancing slippers were torn to shreds and her feet were bloody from running on the gravel to the carriage. Her tiara was long lost, along with any pins that had been holding up her hair. She felt dirty and sticky. She brought her hands up to the bloodstains on the bodice and shuddered. Especially dirty. There was the blood of her guards, of the people who had died to save her because she had been so stupid as to believe her advisor. There was blood on her skin.

A large hand appeared before her, and clutched in it was a dripping wet cloth. Danielle seized it eagerly in her weak and trembling hands. Gratitude welled up within her. Somehow, Rogan knew what she had wanted. "Thank you," she breathed out, quickly whipping at her chest and hands, the cloth becoming grey and pink from the mixture of blood and dirt. Danielle turned over the ruined handkerchief to reveal the cleaner sides and then brought it up to her face and scrubbed as best as she could.

Danielle finally brought dropped her hands to her lap, fingers clutching the cloth. Her energy was completely sapped. For the first time, Danielle looked over to where Rogan crouched down. He had changed, she noted with shock. His dark green costume from the ball had been replaced with coarser brown pants. His wonderful torso had been covered with a white, loose long-sleeved shirt, and Danielle noticed that he dressed like a peasant. Which, her foggy brain deduced, is how she needed to look as well. A rich, high class lady would attract attention. But for a rich, high class lady to be wearing ripped and bloody clothing would attract a maelstrom of notice.

Danielle slowly brought her gaze up to his face. His indifferent mask was partway back on, but she could see that the corners of his mouth were pinched and his forehead wrinkled. He was concerned about her. "How are you feeling now?" He asked quietly. He handed her a canteen. "Here is some water." Danielle grabbed it eagerly and brought it up to her mouth, gulping down the warm water. It tasted wonderful, the best water she had ever had. Once the overriding taste left her mouth she handed it back to Rogan.

"I am better now." Danielle dropped her head, her curls coming forward to cover her face. "Thank you. I am sorry that I put you in an awkward position. But thank you. For now, and for rescuing me." Danielle brought her gaze back up to his face. Rogan had a slight smile on his beautiful lips. Danielle felt a small shock from it. This was perhaps the second time she had seen him smile. Danielle quickly clamped her jaw shut.

"It was no problem your highness. I am sorry for having to deceive you." Again his brows came down and his forehead wrinkled. Danielle quickly shook her head. "No, I understand why you did. I am grateful to you."

Rogan gave another smile. "Well, we should be moving again." He stood up, towering over where she still leaned against the tree. "I have a dress I brought for you. I hope that it fits." Rogan bent down slightly and offered his hand. "And you can sleep in the coach for now. I understand that the drug is not out of your system yet. You are going to need to sleep it off." Danielle stared up into his face, gratitude and another emotion sweeping over her. She placed her hand in his and he carefully helped her up onto her shaking legs and then tucked her arm under his, slowly helping her back towards the carriage.

Love. Danielle though with shock. He had just pushed her over that edge.

***

Poseidon lay on the bottom of the ocean breathing only because Hali had given him air. It was very mortifying, and he couldn't quite bring himself to move yet. He was the God of the Ocean, higher than any king who tried to name himself that. And yet, he was only living because of Hali. Not that he didn't infinitely thank Hali, but this was his home.

And yet, despite not having powers, he still was at ease here. He could hear the songs of porpoises and see infinitely far. In the ocean, he had his god like hearing and sight, and that eased him greatly. This was his element, so even though Hali was wearing the ring, it couldn't completely nullify his powers. But he didn't think he would be able to breathe if Hali was not here.

Poseidon finally pushed himself onto his elbows and looked around for Hali. When she wasn't in front of him, he turned around. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. Hali was a mermaid!

She was looking down at her pale green tail, her expression excited and wondering. Her body was no longer confined in the navy blue dress; instead she only had a dark blue foot wide band around her breasts. The rest of her tanned body was free to the water. Her long, sun streaked brown hair waved around with the currents that were slamming against the cliffs edge and gently rolling back out to the deep sea.

Hali turned her head and looked at him. Immediately her happy expression dropped away, to be replaced by one of apprehension and fear, her multi colored eyes clouding over. Poseidon scrunched his eyebrows. Why would she fear him?

"I don't know how I got like this, honest! I just turned." Hali bit her lip and stared at him, then brought her hands up and played with her nails. The ring on her finger flashed and glowed. Poseidon's gaze dropped down to it.

"I might know something." Poseidon wondered aloud, ideas racing in his mind. The ring had not given Lotus any powers. But then again she had been completely mortal. By the time that Poseidon had met Hali, the ring had already taken away his god abilities, and so she had seemed like a normal mortal woman. But here, some of his senses picked up something different about her. Something old, and mystical.

"Who was your mother?" Poseidon's mind jumped to the only conclusion that would make sense. "Was your mother a naiad? A water nymph?" Hali just gapped at him. Poseidon just nodded his head once. The only type of creatures who could turn into a mermaid when they so choose to were naiads. "She was, wasn't she?"

Hali just closed her eyes and shook her head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Poseidon closed his eyes this time. He would have to tell her everything. It was the only way to get out of their mess.


	30. Chapter 30

"So... you are Poseidon. Well, duh, I knew that already," Hali shook her head, sending her shoulder-blade length hair twirling around in the current waters. "But I mean, you are actually THE Poseidon. Like the one I have studied in all of my mythology classes." Hali was in a small state of shock. Nothing like this ever happened to her before. And yet here he was, a man claiming to be an all-powerful god... stripped of all powers.

"I can't say that this is totally unbelievable. I mean, it is sort of believable, when I think that I was actually on the lost continent of Atlantis, and I have turned into..." Hali gestured at her transformed legs. "This is not something that just Happens. Becoming a Mermaid does sort of cure you of any misconceptions about magic and the 'unbelievable'." When Hali became hyper or agitated, her hands flew about, gesturing. She wasn't sure where she had gotten this habit; her father and brother were far more reserved than she was. But the hand waving was coming out to make an appearance during this confusing moment in time. Hali forcefully clapped them together and dropped them onto her would-be lap. The scales beneath her hands were smooth and soft, and didn't flake like fish scales... Hali shook her head. Not the time to think about that. She had other things on her mind.

As for him being the Greek God Poseidon, oh man, did he look it. Hali leaned back on her hands and scrutinized him. He was the classical, golden beauty that everyone touted about. His golden curls were just a little bit too long to be considered artificial. His Roman nose, straight and definitely patrician, his cheekbones were high and his jaw line was square, all very model worthy. His eyebrows were slightly haughty, and he had a perfect one eyebrow arched who-are-you-looking-at-inferior-being? Poseidon had attitude down... Hali had just never really seen him use it. He seemed to not need it all that much, men naturally gave way to him. And it would make sense that he had that attitude down, Gods are better than anyone else.

Then, of course, there was his physique. Which was, again, perfect. In the past, when people spoke of someone being a Greek God, Hali had seriously doubted that any man could be considered a so handsome he was godly. But with Poseidon... it didn't even come close.

Hali locked eyes with him. Now they were a sea green. "And your eyes... they change with the color of the ocean, right?" Poseidon shrugged, a perfect Gaelic movement, conveying nonchalance and a boyish charm all at the same time. Hali just shook her head slightly. He had every move mastered.

"Perhaps they do. I don't notice it, and I don't really spend much time with other," he paused here, "human-like creatures. Where I spend most of my time, the creatures there don't worry about what color eyes you have. They worry more about your teeth." He shrugged again, and then gave her a dazzling smile, showing off his white, straight, and perfectly human, teeth. "As you can see, I am not much of a threat!" He laughed, the muscles along his chest clenching. Hali quickly looked to the left of him, and let out a slow stream of water. Poseidon laughing, way too dangerous.

"Okay." Hali tilted her head and punctuated her remark with a single, brisk nod of her head. "I believe you. I am trusting my instincts on this one." And Hali did. Searching Poseidon's slightly surprised face, which quickly turned to one of boyish delight, Hali felt no reservations about what he had told her. Nothing in his face told her that she should not believe him. She knew she was now a mermaid, nothing could dispute the facts that she was now sporting a nice new tail and that she was breathing unaided. Nothing could disprove the fact that they were just off the coast of Atlantis, a lost city and continent.

Unless, of course, she was dreaming, she thought with wry wit and sarcasm. Hali knew this couldn't be a dream, though. She had never seriously counted it. Her dreams were always faded and nonsensical. And they usually contained people she knew. And Hali was certain that before Poseidon had shown up, she had never met or even seen him before. She would have remembered it.

From deep in her thoughts a twisting pain quickly crawled up her back. Her family. Hali sucked in a breath of astonished air, her forehead creased in pain and astonishment. She hadn't thought of her father or Jace in days.

"Hali! What is wrong?" Poseidon quickly moved over next to her and grabbed her upper arms. Along the surface of the ocean large waves came crashing against the cliff edge, and they swayed in the current created. Poseidon righted himself as best as he could and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "Hali," he soothed, "What is it?"

As the warmth of his arm settled over her shoulder, Hali let out a deep breath. "My family. My dad and brother... they must be worried sick about me." Poseidon muttered a quiet and unexpected oath beside her. Eyes wide in shock she stared up at him, her mouth slightly agape.

"I had completely forgotten!" Poseidon quickly related to Hali of the quick and surprise visit of Artemis. "She said something about Jace, and how they were worried about you." Poseidon thought what else Artemis had revealed, about her relationship with Jace. He didn't know what to say to Hali about it. Perhaps it would be best to keep it a secret?

"Oh, She was Artemis?!" Hali gave him a large grin. "I remember her! She came into the dive shop, looking for you, now that I think about it!" A sly grin slid across her face, her worry relieved now that she knew her family would not be so worried about her. "Jace seemed quite taken with her. I am so happy she decided to stick around. And she was worried about me enough to seek you out. Hmmm," she mused, "Well, maybe she wasn't worried about me, but she was worried for Jace, maybe." Hali looked up into Poseidon's sea green eyes. "Am I right?" An impish smile spread across her face.

Poseidon laughed. "Yes, you appear to be correct on that mark! She did mention that she rather liked him." A full smile took over Hali's mouth; she couldn't seem to control it.

"But wait, what about your mother? Wouldn't she worry just as much?" Hali's happy expression slid off her face. A confused one settled instead. Poseidon almost frowned. He had really liked it when she smiled so openly and without any reserve. He had wanted to press a kiss to that grin. But he had pressing issues to discuss about with her, and he knew kissing her would be dangerous to getting his story out.

"I don't know my real mother. I was adopted." Poseidon's mouth dropped. Adopted? What? "And why would you think that my mother was a naiad?"

"The ring that is on your finger is not ordinary by any sense of the word. Hephaestus forged it for a woman I once thought I loved." Poseidon's completely dead voice did not quite counteract the quick flash of pain that skipped through Hali. She bit her cheek and quickly squelched it down, paying attention to what he was saying. "But she betrayed me and placed a few stands of my hair into it. She wanted to possess my magical ability, believing that my hair would do the trick. She was wrong. Somehow, though, it negated my power. As long as she wore the ring, I had no magical powers. There was nothing we could do about it. The blue gold that the ring is set with is impossible to just simply unmake. The ring cannot be destroyed." Poseidon's voice had hardened and his face was set in anger. Hali could only gape at him. "Zeus, furious that someone could have such power over a god, turned her into a figure head. We all agreed that the ring should disappear with her, and so was hidden along with her. Despite the fact that it was not being worn by a living person, it still contained some power on its own, although it did not seem malevolent. It kept the boat completely safe where we placed it, not rotting it or letting things overtake it. It preserved it."

Poseidon looked down at her then, his face searching hers. "The ring did nothing for Lotus, but she had been completely mortal. No god blood was mixed with hers. By the time I met you, the ring had already stripped my powers. I was not able to tell that you were not a normal mortal. The ring responds to you. You have gods blood. The ring glowed when we were attacked, transformed you into a mermaid, a naiad's other form, and allowed you to break through the wards on Atlantis. You have magic within you."


	31. Chapter 31

The clothes were the perfect size. Danielle would have thought no less from Rogan, but that fact that he got it right still made her giddy. For him to have gotten the correct size meant that at some time he had looked at her. Very hard. Not that she let any emotion cross her face as they moved as fast as they could over the road. Rogan wasn't the only one who knew how to conceal his emotions behind a mask.

The coach swayed as they moved over a particularly rough patch of road, tossing her plain brown skirt to the side. The dress that he had brought was far from what Danielle had become accustomed to, but she was happy to be in them. Anything nicer could alert people that she was not someone who they would want to be friendly to. Her blond, recognizable hair was pulled up underneath a large, serviceable bonnet. In the baggage boot of the carriage were oak dyes, along with another gown, this one a dark blue instead of brown. The plan was to go as far as they could, passing all of the coaching inns so they wouldn't attract attention, and then, once it was dark, to stop for the night at a lesser used one.

Danielle grounded her back teeth when she thought of staying here. On the south side of the island. People here would be very quick to turn away service or betray her to her former chancellor. The oak dyes were for her hair. They would turn the gold into a dark straw color, or even better make it a light brown. Unfortunately, her hair was hard to color, as she knew from the many ceremonies that had called for white or blue hair. She slightly wrinkled her nose. Those were the worst. Luckily her hair was already gold; otherwise they would have had to gold leaf the strands. She glanced away to the side and rolled her eyes. Some of the traditions where ridiculous.

Danielle's eyes caught on a small coaching inn. The color of the oldest wood, it was set back from the highway by a small road. If she hadn't looked over when she had, Danielle didn't think she would have seen it. It blended very well with the surroundings, playing hide and seek with the eyes as they tried to distinguish between trees and leaves and planks and windows.

"Rogan! What about there?" The sun would set in about an hour, and they still had to get rid of the strangely destroyed coach. Coming in on foot was their only way. Gristock's little blast of power had made a pretty large hole in the back of the carriage, and had spread strange acid like drops all over the inside. There they had eaten away at seats and the wood. It wasn't pretty or safe to site inside. So here she was. Up front, next to Rogan.

Rogan kept the horses at their fast clip, but turned his head and gazed were she was pointing. At first his face was searching, then recognition dawned and a smile spread across his face, broad and glorious. Still grinning, he looked down at her. "I knew there was a reason I saved you!" He teased, his green eyes dancing merrily. He really was very handsome. Even dressed as plainly as she was, he was still extremely handsome. Something that she had never failed to notice. Especially when you were occasionally thrown against his side because of the road. His plain breeches couldn't hide the power in his thighs.

Blushing fiercely at her thoughts and the teasing side of him that she had never known, Danielle gave him a small smile then turned her head to the side. Thank goodness for the bonnet! It hid her from his gaze as well as guarded her hair. Danielle took a couple of quick breaths, hoping that it would help calm her down.

Rogan frowned slightly at her turned head. He hoped that she wasn't feeling poorly. She had had to endure a lot just in one day, and he felt very responsible. Clenching his teeth, he hardened his jaw and resolve. It was his fault that she had to deal with this mess. So he would take her out of it. He drove for another half mile before he pulled on the reigns to stop the carriage. He quickly tied them and hopped down. He walked over to her side, aware that she didn't know what he had to do yet.

"I am going to have to burn the coach." At Danielle's shocked glance he knew he had not revealed what he could do yet. Good. That meant that he had hopefully disguised his power well enough to fool Gristock too. "Don't worry. I know how to control it. We just need to get you and our luggage away from it."

Danielle just blinked once, and then nodded. Rogan reached up, encircled her waist and carefully brought her to the ground. He gnashed his teeth against the sudden urge to pull her against his chest. She was so strong... and she didn't deserve all of this. She wanted to help Atlantis, not have power or wealth. She was nice and true and he knew what he was. Still, once her feet were on the ground, his hands lingered on her waist. She was so...

Rogan pulled away and turned toward the back of the carriage. Enough of that. Opening up the boot, he pulled out their only luggage, a canvas bag with a few essentials in it. Hopefully they would be able to find a town where they could gather a few more things. Rogan pulled out Dani... the Queen's torn and dirty dress, and hesitated. He had planned on burning it, but... he glanced over to where she stood, gazing down the road were they had come from. Her face was blank but he could notice the worry that hovered behind it. The brown gown did nothing to enhance her looks, but she didn't need any help with that. Her shoulders were back, and she kept her chin up. The gown fit her, as he had hoped, but it was not like her ones back at the palace. He again looked down at the silk.

And he saw the blood and the rips. No, he would burn it. She didn't need the reminders. He carefully placed it back in the boot and closed it. "Your Majesty, please stand back here." Rogan walked a good fifty feet before he set down the bag. He wouldn't risk the possibility of her getting hurt. He wasn't entirely sure what would happen when the fire hit Gristock's power acid...

Rogan had driven far enough down the road that any fire would have been too far for the little inn to see. They didn't need to explain why their coach had all the sudden gone up in flames. Hopefully this would also throw off any of the lackeys following them. They would have effectively disappeared... for a while. Rogan knew that Gristock would not be satisfied until he had the queen's, and now his own, dead bodies before him. An image of Danielle sprawled on the ground, pale and lifeless flashed before him. His stomach knotting, Rogan watched as she came and stood next to the bag. Her lovely blue eyes were trusting, but he could also see the weariness that pulled at them.

Determined to get this over with as quickly as possible in order to let her rest, he went back to the coach and undid the traces on the horses. They were tired and winded, but Rogan knew how to take care of the animals. All they needed was a rest. Once they were undone, he completely took off their harnesses. Once they were free, they pranced around for a bit, but did not leave. Rogan smiled slightly. Good animals. They would run soon.

Picking up the heavy traces, he opened the carriage door and piled them inside. Once that was done, he looked back at where the Queen stood. Very quickly, though. He wasn't sure how she was going to take this... Rogan knew that it was unusual. Shrugging his shoulders, he told himself that he didn't care. This was about her safety. It didn't matter what she thought of him. Still, a little voice in the back of his head kept saying Liar, Liar...

Brushing it off as best as he could, he placed both palms on the side of the carriage, fingers spread apart, and inhaled deeply. He leaned forward and blew air smoothly over each of his fingers. Then he twisted the power in the skin of his hands. Sparks erupted all around his fingers on the wood where he had blown his breath. The flames quickly crept out and ate greedily at the dry wood. Clenching his teeth against the heat, he kept them against the wood. Since it was his fire, it wouldn't burn him, but that didn't mean that it wasn't hot.

The fire spread across the surface eating away at wood, leather, anything it could find. Within its orange and yellow color, every now and then a sort of sickly green would flicker and disappear. Rogan hated that green. Hated it with everything in him. It just proved what he was. Des...

A large but silent explosion shook the ground and covered Rogan in his own flames. The fire had found Gristock's magic.


	32. Chapter 32

Hali pushed herself as fast as she could. For the first time in days, her mouth fell open and she laughed, a laugh of pure happiness and exhilaration. She had always dreamed about this! She flattened her hands against her sides, her palms brushing the smooth scales, making herself more aerodynamic. The water rushed past her, pushing her hair behind her. The sun-streaked brown of her hair seemed to glow and move as smooth as silk. Hali's new sea green tail whipped back and forth, pushing her forward as easily as any dolphin. The sea was so clear and the colors so vivid! Hali grinned in wonder. She didn't feel cold or tired. She could go like this forever!

Clicking sounds perforated her euphoria, but didn't diminish it. She knew that sound! Hali abruptly stopped, her hair spinning and waving in the currents. Looking up, Hali saw the source of the noise. Spinner dolphins! Their pretty grey color disappeared out of the water before pushing back through the glass of the ocean.

Hali frowned slightly. She knew that she shouldn't get close. Human interaction with animals was dangerous and... an eyebrow quirked up and mischief spread across her lips. Well, good thing right now she wasn't human! Hali pushed forward.

Poseidon watched her. Amusement was spread across his face clearly. He didn't try to conceal his emotions. Besides, there wasn't anyone to catch him watching. Hali really was beautiful. Not just physically... although he knew that he responded to her very sharply on that level. No, it was how she behaved as well. She got so happy about things. She didn't try to hide what she was feeling. When she was happy, she was happy. Unlike the woman from his brief stay in New York, or some of the other goddesses, she didn't put on a mask of indifference.

He hated that. He knew he had the mask. It was so ingrained into him that he didn't know if he could ever fully display his emotions. But the women who tried to be suave... they were only good for little dalliances. Not for... Poseidon shook his head. He really didn't need to go there.

Poseidon brought his gaze back to Hali. She was currently jumping out of the water, surrounded by the dolphins. They took to her. No surprise there! She behaved just like them.

"You behave just like a child!" Poseidon laughed.

Hali stuck her tongue out at him. "Why shouldn't I?! Less than a fifth of my life is dedicated to being a child. Why shouldn't I try to prolong the time where everything is fun and simple?"

When Hali had told him that, Poseidon had laughed, but it had really struck him. He was immortal. He couldn't remember his childhood really well. Probably suppression. During the time before Zeus had banished the Titans and taken over rule... those days had been dark and terrible. It had been no time to be a child. He had grown up quickly. But, it also reminded him that however much magical blood Hali had within her, her lifespan was still mortal. He would be remembering her for thousands of years longer... but she would have died.

Poseidon felt nauseous. Hali was swimming back to him, her face wreathed in smiles, her cheeks flushed from the exertion and from her happiness. Poseidon didn't think. He reached out his arms and wrapped them around her shoulders, dragging her against his chest.

"Oh..." After hesitating slightly, Hali slowly wrapped her arms around his waist. Poseidon tightened his arms, burying his face in her neck and hair. She would disappear on him...

He wouldn't have a companion. Besides the other gods, no one knew who he was. And frankly, he was sort of sick of most of their company. They didn't have her life.

Hali breathed in, trying to catch his scent. In the water it was diluted, but she could still smell him. The sun warmed skin and sweat mixed with the salt from the ocean. Now she knew why he smelled like that. She let out her breath, her body relaxing into his. They were slowly sinking, she could feel the water moving past them and pulling them. This is what Poseidon feels every time he is here. Lucky. To get to be the god of the oceans... It still felt strange and fanatical to her. But she knew he was telling the truth. It explained so much.

"We should... try to find our way back to your boat. Back to the city of Atlantis," Poseidon didn't lift his head up. Although that is what they should do, that wasn't what he wanted to do. He just wanted to stay here right where he was.

"Hmm," Hali brushed her hands up and down the muscles along his back. Neither of them moved. They slowly settled down on the sandy ocean floor, a coral reef off to the side were the fish swam peacefully. They didn't even bother to look.

Poseidon just held her, feeling her heart beat, feeling the small push of water she let out against his chest. He didn't know how long they stayed like that. But by the time they knew they really had to move, the light was getting darker, and they had drifted past the reef.

Hali lifter her head up and stared at the surface above them. "It must be close to 7:30..." Poseidon just stared at her face. Her freckles were being hidden by the darkness creeping down from them, but her cheekbones were still light, as well as her long eyelashes. They really were fascinatingly long. She looked back down to him, settling her multi-colored eyes on his face. Some expression flitted across her face.

She brought her hands up to his face, placing them on his cheeks and then sliding them to tangle in his hair. Closing his eyes, Poseidon sucked in a breath. He felt her gently brush her lips amongst his forehead, then once across his cheek before she very carefully pressed a chaste kiss on his lips. It seared him. She was... gentle with him. Sweet.

Opening his eyes he stared into hers. He didn't try to cover his face. He knew his expression of wonder and of gratitude was easily distinguishable. Her eyes were soft and she looked so happy and peaceful. "Let's go." She pushed off of the ground and swam up a little ways. Turning around, she offered her hand to him. "I need your help."

Poseidon clenched his teeth. What was she doing to him? He swam up to her and grabbed her hand in both of his. He brought it up to his lips and kissed the back of it, and then threading his fingers through hers. "Alright. Let's go." Hali smiled at him, and then looked off to where they could see the base of the cliffs. Holding her hand tightly, they took off, heading back to where they had tried to be killed. Poseidon clenched his teeth. He would make sure that her short life wouldn't become any shorter. He would make sure that she would not die before her time. He was a god, he could protect her. He would protect her.


	33. Chapter 33

Night had set over the clear blue waters, the last of the sun reflecting on the few clouds that floated in the sky. Hali and Poseidon had decided that they needed to get to the city of Atlantis once more. While they had no idea what was going on, they knew that Hali's powerboat was back at the harbor, if it hadn't been moved. Poseidon was determined to get Hali away from this place, away from the danger. He looked over to where she swam, her head above the water, her tail gracefully and slowly cutting her way back to shore. He wouldn't let her become entangled in this mess that was not of her making.

And perhaps, once he left her in a safe place, he could come back. Once he was far away enough from the ring, he should get his powers back. When his vile ex-lover had worn the ring, he had been able to get far enough away to ascend to Olympus to tell Zeus of his troubles. Once he was a god again, maybe he could help this lost island.

Once they had decided that they were going back, they had swum around until they had found a beach. The cliffs that they had been thrown off of continued for some ways, but before long the island came down greet the water and white beaches formed. The beach where they were currently headed to seemed to be close to a road. A number of small fishing boats were pulled up, safely away from the grasping hands of the waves. Their owners had all headed off in one direction, and then were not seen again. Presumably this is where the road was.

Hali got within ten feet of the shore, then slowed and worried her lip. If this worked like it was supposed to, once she got out of the water, she should have legs again. But was it just when she touched the bottom, or when she was chest deep, or when she was a certain distance from the shore? How was she supposed to just walk up the beach when she had a fin? Swimming in closer, concerned about when she was going to turn back, she stopped suddenly. And then quickly backpedaled.

"Ah, ahhaha... you can go first Poseidon. Go up onto shore, walk a ways, and don't turn around until I tell you to. Got it?" Poseidon looked at her, his face unreadable, but he had an eyebrow raised. Apparently her request confused him a little bit. He gave a Gallic shrug, and then swam until he could walk, and then stepped out into the warm night air. By now the sun had set completely and darkness had almost set in fully, although the moon lent its light. But she could only see the outline of Poseidon. Thank god.

Because as she had almost reached the shallow part of the waters, she had realized that she would change back into a human. With human body parts... and she had no idea if she would have the shorts on that she had before. Her face flaming, Hali took a breath. How embarrassing would that have been?! She liked Poseidon, but she was in no way ready for him to be seeing her naked!

Once again swimming for shore, Hali whispered under her breath, "Please have shorts, and please have shorts, please, please, please". She inverted herself, her tail brushed the sandy bottom, and a strange tingling swept through her. So it took place were the shore became shallow enough for her to walk with legs.

A muted light that seemed blue-green in the water, spread around her legs, warm and cooling at the same time. She had a fin, and then she had two legs. That was it. The simple movement from one to another. She quirked her eyebrows. She wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, but that really hadn't been it. Now for the real test. She peered down through the waters. Yep, she smiled in relief, she had the shorts on. A wide grin on her face, she quickly walked out of the water up to where Poseidon stood with his back turned. "All ready now!"

He turned, the moon catching the planes of his face and his teasing grin. "I wouldn't have minded, you know."

"What? Wouldn't have minded what?" His Cheshire cat grin dawning on her. Her face flamed. "I... I..." Trying to trump her embarrassment, she turned it to anger as best as she could. "I can't believe you! You wouldn't care?! We don't even know each other that well!" Hali stalked off in the direction the men had taken. She ruined the effect of haughtiness and anger when she stumbled over some driftwood. Her nose had been too high in the air for her to see it. She quickly righted herself and continued, her embarrassment coming to the forefront again as she passed into the forest.

Poseidon's laughter followed her through the night, his steps quick as he hurried to catch up with her among the small brush. "Hali! I am sure that you are very beautiful!" The laughter and teasing in his voice were strongly evident, enough so that she just felt so... so...

Hali whipped around to give him her sharp retort, "If you..."

A bright flash of light through the trees cut her off, freezing her and her anger were they were. "Get down!" Poseidon growled, dropping down to be hidden by the plants. Hali quickly followed suit, unconsciously creeping in closer to him. Poseidon brought his arm over her back, tucking her into him, shielding her with his body.

Through the darkness of the night they could see what the flash of light had come from. There were a number of men on horseback, some riding, while others were on the ground, looking and talking about the tracks that had been made. Striding back and forth was a man dressed in expensive clothing, holding in his palm a ball of light. As they watched, the light flickered out. His loud curse rang out through the night, and the bright light flashed again. Hali flinched from the harshness of it, and slowly opened them again.

"They went this way. No mistaking the way those tracks skidded. Only one person could have been in that much of a hurry. Damn you Rogan!" The man holding the light turned around, walking back towards the horses. Hali gave a little hiccup in her chest. She knew that it would be stupid to make any sound. But she knew him.

The men mounted up, and quickly followed down the road. Poseidon slowly let her up, carefully keeping an eye out for anymore movement. Hali sat up. Poseidon had noticed her jerk, and, when he deemed it safe, nodded to her to tell her to speak. "I remember that man. He was at the ball; he was... the queen's chancellor! He must be searching for the queen with a rescue party. The men certainly looked strong enough. And that man's name, Rogan? He was with the queen. He was one of the ones who was there when we were brought out of the carriage." Hali wrinkled her brow and thought back. When she had met him at the ball, he had called himself James, but when the Queen had been with them, she had called him Rogan. She said something about him lying James must not have been his real name.

"Rogan must still have her." Hali shuddered, thinking about the rugged men who had been at that farm. "I don't know if they would be able to help. But perhaps they could tell us were to go? They are from the city, after all." Hali looked up at Poseidon, who gazed were the men had vanished. He had a slight frown on his face, puzzled, it seemed.

"Something doesn't ring quite right." He looked down at her. "Besides, we wouldn't be able to catch them. However, if this is a well-traveled road, there must be someplace nearby that we could get information from. We need clothing too." He looked down at where they were both half naked and wet from the sea salt. "Let's follow them." They followed the little trail until they came to the main road, and saw what they had been looking at. There were two paths, evidence of carts and horses on both. They followed the one that the search party had, and disappeared into the dark of the forest.


	34. Chapter 34

"Rogan!" Danielle rushed forward towards the fire, stopping only when the heat became too intense. The fire was burning out of control! And Rogan didn't appear among the flames. "ROGAN!" Numbness shot through her, her breath rushed out in a sob. Oh dear god...

The greedy flames suddenly flashed green, and then disappeared altogether. Where the flames had concealed a carriage and a man, only the man remained along with a little pile of ash in the road. Rogan stood untouched, flushed from the heat but otherwise completely unharmed. He stood with his head down, his hand still outstretched. He slowly turned his head towards her, his eyes slowly opening.

"Rogan," Danielle felt the numbness spread up to her brain, and the last thing she noticed before she lost consciousness was Rogan racing foreword with a shout. Then she slipped into the all-consuming blackness.

***

Rogan reached Danielle just before she hit the ground, caught her and cradled her on his lap. Any problems he had been dealing with before quickly disappeared. "Danielle," he lightly slapped her cheeks, trying to rouse her, "Danielle."

Her blond lashes slowly opened and then narrowed again. Confusion swirled in her eyes, the blue almost obscured by the coming night. "Wha... did I faint?" Shaking her head she tried to sit up. "I never faint." She sat up, Rogan didn't move. "You, you didn't die?" Looking up at his face, searching it, she brought her other hand up to her temple and massaged it. "Things don't make sense."

Rogan picked her up and set her on her feet, gathering himself to his full height. "I will explain it to you once we are at the inn. You are far too light, the drug that I was forced to administer to you kept you unconscious too long." Rogan winced in misery. If he had been strong enough to stop this whole problem before it had involved her... "I want to make sure that there is no lasting damage from our recent troubles. You need food and sleep." Rogan walked over to the small duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. He turned around and watched were she was standing. The sun slowly set, the tree's covering the actual movement. Rogan would guess that any second the last of the sun would disappear below the horizon.

Danielle nodded her head in relief, her face too pale, and walked down the path were they came. Rogan turned and followed as well. She had gotten the better glimpse of the inn; she would know where it was.

They walked for around 20 minutes, the light almost completely gone, before Danielle turned slightly and waited for him to catch up. Rogan saw her smother a yawn behind her hand before she spoke. "This is it." Rogan just nodded once, rested his hand on her shoulder briefly. "Allow me to do the talking. I have no idea what type of people the owners are."

Danielle nodded. "My accent is obviously from the north. Will we be staying as 'husband and wife'?" Pride filled him. Even though she was half dead, she still kept her wits about her. The ache of pride and tenderness created a band that tightened around his chest. Yes. He offered his arm, and she gladly slipper hers through his, leaning into him. She was putting up a very brave facade.

They walked down a dirt path lined with smoothed stones, and before them spread out the inn. It was small, three stories, about four rooms long with a small stable. The entire of it was painted a dark brown that matched the colors of the surrounding trees. The shutters were painted a hunter green, and the door matched as well. There was light shining through the windows downstairs, along with a few of the third floor rooms. The general effect was that the place was built with care, but not the greatest amount of money. Obviously someone was home. Whether they were receiving or not was the question.

They walked up to the door and Rogan gave a couple of raps. "Just a minute!" a woman's voice was heard, and then a swift rustling, along with the sound of her scolding someone slightly. Presently the door opened to show a gangly boy of about 14. His hair and shirt were unkempt, but clean, a welcoming smile on his face. "Hello! Do you want to stay? Or eat?" He ushered them in with a sweep of his arm. "Ma's cooking is the best, and we have a room available for you if you need it." He peered out into the darkness, his forehead wrinkled. "No horses? I am sorry, if we had heard the horses, we would have been out to greet you." He turned and shut the door.

The inside of the inn mimicked the outside. The common room was a split of a dining room and a lounge, tables and booths along with couches and chairs. Off to the left a large fire was built in the grate and a set of stairs lead upwards towards the rooms. To the right was a doorway, in which a matronly woman came bustling through, wiping her hands on her apron. It apparently lead towards the kitchen and pantry. Her face was flushed from cooking, her ginger streaked hair pulled back into a loosely tied chignon. She was round and smiling, and looked the epitome of the motherly caregiver. Rogan felt his shoulder relax slightly. This place would do. "How are you sir, Madame? Welcome to the Green Wells. I am Mrs. Wells. What can I do for you two?"

"We would like accommodations for tonight, as well as a meal. Rogan looked down at Danielle, seeking her approval. She nodded her head once, her body sagging slightly, lulled by the warmth, hospitality, and the smell of cooking food.

The woman's gaze shifted from Rogan down to Danielle, her expression changing to one of motherly worry. "Why poor dear! You look almost done in. Come now..." Before any longer, Danielle was settled before the fire, a cup of tea in her hands, the tea tray on the table before her, and Mrs. Wells was back in the kitchen, with the intent of bringing out the food that she had prepared. "Jacob, go prepare the room, the fresh sheets are in the cupboard," they heard her yell out. The boy nodded to them, and then trotted up the stairs. Rogan sank down beside Danielle, his gaze on her pale face. He really was worried about her. She had been in a drug induced coma for two days, and after she surfaced from that, she had another bout of drugs. That much is very bad for the body. The food would help, and so would sleep.

"Here you are now dears," Mrs. Wells put a large platter before them, sliced ham and roasted potatoes, and laid down another side dish with some sort of fish. Her little boy, Jacob, came down, disappeared and brought out plates for them, as well as silverware. They were pewter, nothing like the silver they had back in Atlantis, but they weren't that picky. Mrs. Wells came back with a salad. "Now eat up, my dears! We must get you back into health!"

Their meal passed swiftly, Danielle elegantly sped through her meal, not realizing until now just how hungry she had been. Rogan ate methodically beside her, deep in thought. Once the meal had been pushed aside, Rogan watched Danielle blink repeatedly, and cover her yawns. She was fading quickly.

Rogan stood up and walked over to the door leading to the kitchen. "Mrs. Wells, could I get a key to the room please?" The kitchen was quite warm, and the good lady was sprinkling flour over the wooden cutting board, holding fresh bread dough in one hand. "Right there, sir. On the hook labeled 3." She plopped the bread into the flour, then went to kneading it back and forth. "Go up the stairs, and it is the 2nd door on the left." She didn't miss a beat in her routine.

"Thank you." Rogan turned and saw a little rack with hooks labeled 2 and 3. There were only two rooms that were available... Rogan quirked an eyebrow. This really was a small inn. He took the key and headed out to where Danielle was lounging against the couch. He quietly stood in front of her. She was asleep, propped up by the back, her head lolling to the side. A gentle smile and a peaceful feeling crept up through him. Rogan leaned down and gently gathered her into his arms. Danielle shuffled slightly so that her head was against his shoulder. She gave a soft sigh, and her hand came up and grabbed the lapel of his shirt. Her face was peaceful, the lines of tension around her mouth and eyes easing in her sleep.

Rogan looked up and clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth together. After taking a second he let out a slow, long sigh, and headed towards the room.


	35. Chapter 35

The sound of pounding hoof beats and of men's shouts made Danielle awake with a cry, awaking to the darkness.

"Shhh," Rogan was across the dark room somewhere. Moonlight slowly started to come into the room, a curtain was carefully moved to the side. The light illuminated the tense lines of Rogan's face, and Danielle realized how precarious their position was. No transportation, no allies, stuck alone in the middle of an area that would just love to get their hands of the queen. Danielle shivered and shifted out of the bed. Even so, she was made of sterner stuff. She silently came and stood beside Rogan, gazing out into the night with him. Through the trees, she could make out the horsemen. Riding surprisingly well in the front was Gristock, his hand held aloft, a ball of light in his hand.

The light disappeared and Gristock cursed loudly, the men's voices giving encouragement to him and to their horses. They were pushing them hard. They galloped past the inn as Gristock once again light his palm, the flash from it searing Danielle's eyes for a moment. She blinked rapidly, and by the time they were back to normal, the mob was past the inn, and she could barely make out the last of the horseman's backs. Danielle's body sagged as the tension eased out of her.

"Only three hours behind..." Rogan kept his eyes on the road. "Why don't you go back to sleep. We will need to leave early tomorrow." Danielle raised her eyes up to his face, but he didn't look back down at her. He studied the road intently. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but slowly closed it and turned away. Sliding back between the white sheets, she turned so that she was looking at the man standing by the window. He completely dominated the clean, small room, making everything appear fragile and small. Danielle's eyes drifted closed, letting sleep reclaim her. She let out a gentle sigh. He made her feel completely safe.

Rogan looked over to where the queen lay on the bed, her face turned up towards him. She was asleep already. She was probably too trusting. If it had been Rogan, he would have stayed up longer to see if the men would come back. Soon they would reach the end of the carriage trail, hopefully by now the ashes would be completely disguised and scattered. The darkness covered their tracks pretty well, and Gristock's determination helped with leading him away. If Rogan wasn't using this strategy, he knew he would have kept driving. Gristock was obviously thinking along the same lines.

Rogan looked away from the road, his eyes unconsciously followed over to the sleeping woman. Her silvery hair was spread out along the pillow, her lips parted slightly. Her sleeping gown borrowed from Mrs. Wells, ugly and much too big for her. Rogan turned back, settling is body against the wall, and kept watch.

***

"I think I am going to die from exhaustion," Hali yawned, a huge, jaw cracking yawn. "We have been walking all night!" The morning sun peeked over the tops of the trees, birds calling. Hali would say that it almost was peaceful, but the birds were far too exotic and noisy for Atlantis to be called 'normal'.

"Excuse me? We have been walking all night? I seem to remember something... oh yes... now, what was it? Oh, that's right, I AM CARRING YOU!" Poseidon trudged foreword, Hali safely and happily riding piggyback. Although he said it with such anger and annoyance, Hali knew it was just all in joke. After she had practically fallen asleep walking in the middle of the night, he had picked her up. Hali, knowing that she could trust him, had taken a small nap; her head nestled in his neck. Besides, he was shirtless and strong and good smelling, who wouldn't resist the urge to plaster herself against his chest?!

After she had woken up, he insisted that the road was too rough for her shoe-less feet, and then carried her piggyback. Frankly, Hali was fine with that. She wasn't used to walking without any type of shoes for that long. Poseidon, apparently, never wore shoes, so he was perfectly fine. But they really had been awake for more than 24 hours now, and the fatigue was starting to even get to Poseidon. Hali had heard him curse a number of times under his breath. He really wasn't happy with his God-less state.

Hali bit her lip and glanced down at her hands clasped loosely around Poseidon's neck. The ring shone brightly there, the sun making the sapphire and emerald sparkle brilliantly, and the pearls gleam white. It was because of this thing that they were all in this mess. They wouldn't be here... Poseidon would be a god... she would be safely within the time limits of sleep. Hali felt herself go into the semi-asleep trance again. So sleepy... and hungry... Maybe she should have eaten a fish when she was a mermaid... did mermaids eat fish? Too cannibalistic, perhaps. Seaweed?

Still staring at the ring, a bright spear of light jolted her out of her thoughts. "What is it?" Poseidon asked, in response to her body shaking jerk. "Ah..." Hali looked at the ring. It did it again! The ring sent out a streak of light, going off to their right, and disappeared all in an instant. Bewildered, Hali turned her head, looking in the direction that it had pointed to. "I don't know! The ring is going..."

Crazy. Hali stared at the little inn through the trees. She would have totally passed it, if the ring hadn't made her look. Inn... food and beds. Scrunching up her face, she brought her hand closer. Again, something magic. Crazy.

"Wait, Poseidon. There, through the trees. An inn!" Poseidon turned and loosened his arms, and Hali hopped to the ground. "Food! And beds! Ah, wonderful, wonderful beds!" Hali started to skip foreword, her mind pretty much blanking of any degree of caution. Hali turned and motioned for Poseidon to follow. He shook his head, probably at her behavior, and followed in her footsteps. She was just too done to care all that much about trying to make an impression. Besides, they knew each other's secrets now. He was an ancient sexy god, and she was... childlike, impulsive, daughter to a naiad... and the one currently blocking his powers. Yep, they knew each other's secrets.

So completely absorbed in thoughts of sleeping, Hali didn't recognize the two people who stepped out of the door of the inn. At least, not until she realized just how pretty the blond woman was, or how handsome the vile betrayer was. The man had his hand firmly wrapped around her wrist, and the woman glared up at him, hatred making a bubble around them. "Your majesty!"

Hali gapped up for a split second, and then dove forward and grabbed the woman's hand. "We will help you!" Hali pulled the woman back, dragging her behind him. The man... James... no Rogan, growled and lunged for the queen. Poseidon ran up with a yell, "Hali, get her away! Down the road!" Poseidon tackled the other man to the ground, each throwing punches and gaining the upper hand. Hali spared a quick glance backward, biting her lip, before pushing the Queen back. "Come on!"

"No! Stop it!" The queen rushed back, apparently intent on saving Poseidon. "Come on! He doesn't need help!" Hali pulled her off again. By this time, the two men were back on their feet, Poseidon stood between the man and them. "Get away, man!" Rogan growled.

"Ya, right!" Poseidon rushed again, ready to tackle. Rogan snarled and brought his hands up, green eerie light emanating from his hands, and then green flames shot up. The queen yelled once more, her terror evident, "No!"

Hali turned, and saw Rogan trust his palm forward, and watched as the flames leapt from them into the air. "Poseidon!" Hali screamed, dropping the queen's arm and rushing towards Poseidon. "No!" Hali reached him a split second before the green fire did.


	36. Chapter 36

Hali looked wonderingly at the swirl of blue and silver above her. It was so pretty... was this heaven? And if it were heaven, why would Poseidon be sprawled half on her, half off, squishing the breath out of her? Sure, she had lunged herself at him, but still, she thought that dying was something people did alone. Lifting her hand, she poked the prone man. He groaned and lifted his head from the face plant he was in. Definitely not alone.

"Hali... what did you do?" Poseidon sat up, shifting his body up off of her, rubbing his dirt smeared forehead. He looked around at the bubble of colors around them, his jaw dropped open. "Hali, what did you DO?"

Hali sat there calmly. She was way beyond freaked out. "This... I think that we died. Makes sense, doesn't it? Green fire, all the way consumed..." Hali sighed and leaned back, her arms crossing behind her head. "Ya, this is pretty nice. I am not even hungry or tired anymore."

Poseidon reached over and flicked her upper shoulder. She sat up, rubbing the red spot on her arm and mock growled at him. She really was in too good a mood to be mad at him. "You really are unaware. This isn't the afterlife. Far from it. This is something you made." Poseidon fluidly stood up and walked a ways away. He reached out and experimentally tapped the swirls. Surprisingly, he touched them, making a slight hollow noise. "Yep, this is your barrier."

Hali jumped up, a smile of wonderment spreading across her face. "I did magic again?" Hali spoke breathlessly. This was all just too much for her, and she recalled all the times she wished she could do something supernatural. Hali rushed up to were Poseidon stood, fully intending to touch her magical barrier. Only, once she got there, the barrier had moved as well. Scowling, Hali tried again. No good, it moved once more. "What the hell?!"

"It's your barrier. It follows you, protects you. You are at its center, so when you move, it does too." Poseidon chuckled at her indignant expression. He had kept pace a couple steps behind her, knowing if he moved too far from her, the barrier would no longer protect him.

Hali stopped then, although her expression still appeared mutinous. She stood, gazing up at the constantly moving swirls. It looked like a soap bubble, except the only colors visible were blue and white. Quirking an eyebrow, Hali suddenly rushed forward, arm outstretched. Again the barrier remained about 10 feet ahead, and this time a tree permeated through it. "Damn. I was hoping that would work." She grinned up at him sheepishly, and rested against the tree.

Poseidon chuckled, moving once more to the center with her. "Soooo..." Hali drawled. "How do we get out of this thing?"

On the outside, Danielle quickly ran around the bubble to be by Rogan's side. She gasped slightly when she reached him, noticing the blood coming from the corner of his mouth. "It is nothing, your majesty." Rogan wiped the blood off with the back of his hand, and then turned his attention to the bubble. Danielle reluctantly followed his gaze. And then quickly gasped as the thing moved slowly to the side.

"What is it?"

"A barrier, and although it is crudely made, it is very effective. I thought I sensed magic within her." Rogan thought back to the ball. He had felt the sparks that were in her veins, but she hadn't had enough to produce something like this. Something must have happened. The barrier moved once more, this time quickly, reaching the end of the dirt round-about and off to the forest. Danielle moved herself closer to him. Magic was not something she was accustomed to, despite the large amounts she had been exposed to recently. It wasn't exactly something she associated with good things.

Thinking on the two, she replayed the events. She hesitantly spoke up, "I don't think that these people are in league with Gristock." Rogan looked down at her, now thinking back to the fight that had just taken place. "Let me speak with them, once they emerge." Rogan nodded.

"You have to stop thinking about being safe." Hali groaned at that. They were safe, and she rather liked that.

"So you mean that I have to think about you being attacked by that weird green fire, and then it will disappear. Because, let me tell you, I did not save you just so you could get fried to a crisp." Hali gazed up at him, her brave facade almost completely covering up how worried she had been.

Poseidon felt himself ease and he gently leaned down and brushed a quick kiss across her lips. He pulled back, his expression tender, "Thank you." Hali gapped up at for a second, and then a shy smile spread across her face. Her eyes focused on his lips again, her eyes gone hazy, and she leaned up into him, ready to kiss him again...

The barrier dissolved around them. Hali, startled and slightly embarrassed, quickly wield around, ready to fight. Poseidon too, hunkered down, prepared for a fight. Instead of hostility, though, they were met by the Queen's outstretched hands and her smile, with Rogan standing behind her, his arms crossed over his chest and an unreadable expression on his face. Nothing appeared hostile here.

"Before you take action once again, please let me explain. This man is not my enemy, and so I believe he is not yours. He has saved me from Gristock."

Hali piped up. "I don't know about Gristock... isn't he that fat chancellor man? We only know the men who tried to kill us, and he," Hali pointed with her eyebrows raised, "was among those men." Poseidon stood beside her, still as a statue, but Hali sensed the tension in him.

"Rogan has been serving as a double agent of sorts. Please, do not doubt him. He has saved me from my death and kept me safe." Hali slowly let out a breath, and glanced up at the god beside her.

"Well, do we trust them?" Hali felt all of her weariness and hunger return to her. She didn't know what had made it go away, probably something like adrenaline, or the rush from performing magic. But it was all back now. She swayed slightly, her face going pale.

Poseidon cursed. "Fine, we will trust you. Just explain what has happened."

Danielle nodded, and quickly relayed the story of how Gristock was behind the mess, and how Rogan had led her out the back window and into the carriage. And of how they had heard the men moving down the road in the middle of the night. "We must be on our way soon, in case he figures out what has happened." Here the queen tossed a worried glance back at Rogan, who gave a quick nod.

Hali let out a deep sigh. "We should probably go with you too." Here Poseidon and the queen gave her quick glances. Hali rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on now! How could we explain to the guys who pushed us off cliffs that we are alive and that we are harmless? We saw you with them; we can tie you to them. They will want us dead. Probably better for them not to know that we are even alive." Hali gazed longingly up at the inn. "Sleep and food would have been wonderful though..."

The queen turned to her companion, and they talked in hushed tones. Poseidon looked down at her, worry clear in his sea green depths. "Are you going to be okay?"

Hali gave him a mischievous smile, "I will manage. You should worry about yourself. I may make you carry me again!" Poseidon smiled down at her, but he didn't miss the lines of fatigue around her mouth. He was sure that he was looking a bit like that too. Except he was more used to physical activities, and he hadn't performed at least four magical feats as she had.

"Very well," Rogan turned and spoke with them, breaking the little argument that he and the queen had been having. "We will eat here, and see if there is something we could hire from the landlady."

Hali instantly brightened. "Awesome!" She started towards the door.

Rogan wasn't done speaking, "And perhaps there is some suitable clothing that could be bought for you." His tone was disapproving, his gaze equally so, and Hali stopped in mid step and looked down at what she was wearing. A flush spread across her cheeks. The dark blue shorts and strapless breast band were all she was wearing. Ya... that really wasn't suitable in this world.

"Perhaps you two could go on ahead and explain for us?" The queen gave her a quick nod and walked over to her.

"Don't worry, the landlady is quite nice. Why don't you call me Danielle instead of a title?" Hali gave her a sunny smile, and introduced herself. They walked into the inn, talk friendly and warm between them. Outside the two men faced each other, both taking the others measure. Before long, Poseidon gave a gracious nod, breaking the hold. Still wary of each other, Poseidon followed Hali into the inn, and Rogan trailed after.


	37. Chapter 37

Hali blushed bright red as Mrs. Wells gaped at her attire. It didn't bother her all that much when it just had been her and Poseidon. Her outfit was really just like a swimsuit, it actually covered more than some of hers, but the way that people reacted to it was unnerving. It really was like being naked at a party... something she had never thought to experience.

"My dear... why are you only in your underwear? Well, hurry along now," Mrs. Wells, all bustle and busy ushered her across the common room and up the stairs, leading her and the queen into one of the few rooms. "I am sure your man has had more than an eyeful, and does not mind, but it wouldn't do for others to see you as such!"

Hali blushed again, this time to the reference of Poseidon as 'her' man. She had to admit to her sleep deprived self that it sounded good. But he was a Greek god... and she knew that very few of the gods had ever had happy romantic stories. Most were about betrayal... or seduction. Zeus had been pretty wild, if she remembered correctly. And Artemis... she thought with a frown, hadn't there been some sort of love tragedy? Something with Orion... she would have ask Poseidon.

"Here you go dear." Mrs. Wells had gathered out of a closet a large brown gown, sensible and efficient. "I am sorry that it is not pretty, and it will be too large for you. Unfortunately this is the best I can offer you." She looked slightly worried, and so Hali gave her a bright smile, letting her know that there was no harm. She smiled back. "Good. Now... she rooted around the closet some more, pulling out a pair of boots and a man's shirt. "I will go down and give these to your man. Dress and then come down to eat. I am sure that Adam has shoes for him" Mrs. Wells muttered to herself as she left the room.

Hali blinked in surprise after the woman. She really was very friendly, leaving them in her bedroom, trusting them. She doubted that she would do that to a total stranger. She looked over at the queen, one eyebrow raised in inquiry. Danielle just shrugged her shoulders and held her hands out, fingers spread. Hali cracked a grin. She really didn't seem so cold and aloof now that she had actually met her.

"She was like that when we came in last night. I don't really remember it all that well, but I felt like a little lost kitten and she just mothered me the entire time. Even this morning, she drew me a bath and everything." Hali sighed enviously at the sound of a bath.

"Do you think that the water is still there? I am covered in sea salt still," Hali wrinkled her nose in distaste. In Roatan, there was a shower head about twenty feet from the dock, and she had never had to wait so long to wash off the sticky substance. She brought one hand up and brushed her loose hair. It was stiff and hanging stringy. For the first time since getting out of the water, Hali wondered what she looked like. A quick glance in the mirror over the bureau showed that she really didn't want to look again. The queen's words cut her out of her shudder of distaste.

"Perhaps. I don't think that Jacob, her son, has finished his chores in the barn yet. It should still be there, although not very warm..." Slinging the dress over her arm and grabbing the lasses of her new shoes, Hali followed Danielle from the room and down the small hall and into a room labeled with a three. Inside was small, but there was a large copper tub still filled with water. Hali sighed in pleasure, already heading for it.

"The water shouldn't be too dirty..." Danielle's voice trailed off in embarrassment. "Rogan washed outside, I think. And I had washed earlier yesterday..." Hali waved her hand, cutting off the queen's embarrassed babbling.

"I honestly don't care! Right now anything would work." Placing the clothing on the bed, Hali turned, and felt the water. Room temperature, but since the temperature was something like 75 degrees, she really couldn't care less.

"I will be downstairs." Danielle paused before closing the door behind her. "Umm, do you want me to send your man up? Perhaps he would want to wash too?"

Hali's face instantly went up in flames. Poseidon in here with her, while she bathed. She forcefully shoved the wicked images from her mind, thinking instead of how ugly she looked right now. That was a definite turn off. "No thank you, I will get him when I am done."

The queen gave a quick smile and shut the door behind her. Hali sighed happily and stripped, slipping into the lukewarm water. On the little vanity table set beside it was a couple of bottles, like the one that had been in their 'prison' room. Hali frowned as she spilled some of the liquid into her hands and lathered her hair. That seemed like years ago, had it only been a few days?

Once Hali had washed her hair and body, she stepped out of the bath and looked around. No towel. Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard Mrs. Wells' cheery voice on the other side of the door. "Miss Hali, I have brought you a towel, and some undergarments. I am so sorry; I did not know that you would be needing those too. You can take the sheet from the bed and cover yourself." Hali quickly complied and then called a soft enter.

Busting in and out, Mrs. Wells left the additional cloth and took away her previous clothing. "Nothing to do about it, I will have these washing in jiffy!" The whirlwind of domesticity left just as quickly as she appeared. Hali shook her head, confused how doing so many chores seemed to make the woman happy. She shrugged and quickly changed into the wondrously dry and clean clothes, slipped the boots on and tied them. Some people were like that.

Taking a quick peek at her reflection, Hali shook her head. Better, but still, not very tempting. Her wet hair hung down past her shoulders, looking darker brown than it actually was. Her nose and cheeks were still as freckly as ever, and her eyes still couldn't decide what color they wanted to be: blue, green, grey, or hazel. She sighed slightly. Poseidon was just so hot, and sexy. She was so plain in comparison. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection, and then grinned widely at how childish she was. Really, being sleep deprived did something to her.

Hali headed downstairs, pausing and taking a quick gasping breath at the amount of food heaped on one of the tables. Her three companions sat around it, Poseidon the only one eating, Danielle talking with him, apparently explaining their trails. Rogan sat silent, ever watchful. He really was an excellent guard. A particularly delicious draft caused her to rush forward and plop down in the available chair, immediately forking a piece of ham onto her plate with one hand and grabbing a fresh roll with the other, cramming it into her mouth. She rolled her eyes heaven ward. She was such a bread-aholic, and this tasted like heaven.

Poseidon gave a low laugh and stood, shaking her head at her frantic attempts to eat everything at once. He disappeared up the stairs, to take his own bath and change, and Hali vaguely noticed that he now had a new pair of pants as well as shirt. The wicked thought crossed her mind was he wearing anything under those pants? Hali blushed again, and quickly went back to eating.


	38. Chapter 38

Hali awoke slowly from her dreamless slumber. She felt infinitely happy and sated. She was warm; the sun was beating down on her, playing through the trees and making patterns across her eyelids. Still not fully awake, she just lay there, absorbing the sensations.

She was on some sort of vehicle, and it was moving slowly forward, the horses foot beets a steady soothing rhythm. Beneath her body she felt a smooth cloth lying on top of crisp stray. The smell was sweet and strong all at the same time. But the best thing was the body pressed behind her, an arm anchored around her waist and her head lying on the strong arm. She knew who it was instinctively, just as she knew that he still slept. His breathing was slow and easy, his scents, one of the salt water off the ocean and of something uniquely him, permeated the air around her, making her sigh in contentment. She could stay like this forever.

Hali yawned, and slowly opened her eyes, burrowing closer to the broad chest behind her. They were traveling through the forest, heading in some unknown direction. Craning her head backwards, she noticed Rogan and Danielle, sitting side by side, Rogan driving and Danielle watching the tree's pass. Hali wrinkled her brow, hazily thinking about their relationship. There was a barrier between them; they sat about three feet apart. But she had the feeling that neither one wanted that distance between them. Both the physical and the mental distance.

As she watched, she saw Rogan take a quick glance at his queen beside him. He immediately turned back to watching the road, keeping a look out for anyone. A few seconds later, Danielle shot him a quick glance, and turned her attention elsewhere too. Hali let out a small sigh and closed her eyes, smiling. They were ridiculous. At least with her and Poseidon...

Hali's smile bleed off her face. Her and Poseidon. What was she thinking?! They weren't anything. They couldn't be anything. He was a god, and once they finished this adventure, she would go back to Roatan and be with her family while he stayed in the ocean. He would go back to being godly, doing what gods do. While she... would be cursed to think about him, longing, yearning for the rest of her life. She couldn't live without the ocean, and so she would be constantly reminded of him. Whenever she just sat and watched the waves, she would wonder where he was. Whenever she scuba dived, she would think about the first time she met him, getting so angry at how stupid he was. One the boat, how she would always remember the look he had given her the first time they had actually seen each other. And how incompetent he had been when trying to snap the plastic windows into place.

They had done so much stuff together in the past week that she didn't think there would ever be a time that she wouldn't think of him. There was always some memory tied with him. Hali brought the hand that had been lying by her side up to her eyes, rubbing them. What had happened to her? Had she... fallen in love? Was this what it was? The pain in her sternum at the thought of never seeing him again was so great, creating a gaping hole there. Oh, gods, she had, hadn't she. She was in love with Poseidon.

Unable to stand these lonely thoughts anymore, Hali turned over in Poseidon's sleeping embrace. She wrapped her arm around his waist, burrowing her face in his neck, trying to get as close to him as possible. Poseidon's arms tightened around her waist. He had woken up. The arm that she had her head on came up and smoothed his hand down her hair, then anchored on her neck, massaging slightly. "Hali? Are you alright?"

Hali couldn't look at his face. She feared that she would lose it if she did. Instead she nodded her head, breathing in the warm scent of his skin. "I am just tired."

Poseidon kept up his gentle massage, sending tingles up and down her spin. He was so wonderful. So perfect. Hali slowly relaxed and drifted off to sleep once more.

Poseidon kept massaging her neck even after he felt Hali drop off into sleep. Something was worrying her. Even as she slept, she kept a strong grip on his waist, keeping herself as close to him as possible.

Now awake, Poseidon took in their surroundings. They were in the back of the cart that they had bought from Mrs. Wells. Apparently Mr. Wells was an amateur woodworker, and they had had a number of these basic carts. After they acquired this cart, they had left behind a hefty amount of coins and taken off, almost immediately after he had come down from his bath. By that time, Hali had finished eating and was asleep on the couch. Carrying her and laying her down in the cart, he had almost gone to sit up front with Rogan. But seeing her there sprawled across the blanket, sleeping so peacefully and looking so innocently beautiful had been his downfall. He couldn't resist sleeping beside her. Besides, he rationalized to himself; he needed the sleep too, now that he was on a god-hiatus.

Now it appeared to be the late afternoon. Sometime soon the sun would begin its decent into the oceans, and it would be night once more. Poseidon really didn't know how many days they had been under the effects of the drugs, waiting in the secret storage spot of the carriage. But by now, Artemis must have informed Zeus as to the predicament. Since she had never come to see him again, he presumed that it was impossible. And there were ways to keep gods out. Poseidon couldn't go to the underworld without Hades inviting him. He couldn't infringe on Demeter's garden. But usually the power that was needed to create the barriers to keep gods out needed very strong power.

Speaking of powers... he brought his attention back to Hali. What were the extent of hers? The blood of her mother must flow very strongly through her, for she had done any number of remarkable feats. The fact that she was able to turn into a mermaid showed that she had more than half of her mother's magical abilities. Once she woke up again, they would have to work on seeing what she could do.

And then there was Rogan. His power... and the green hints. It reminded him of something... The power that he had was obviously from a god. It was not possible to just get power halfway through life. Hali's must have been unlocked somehow, but it had always been with her.

Gristock's magic. There was, again, that unknown. Poseidon thought back to the time when he saw the fat man light the flame in the palm of his hands. Unfortunately that did not give him very much to go by. That was a very basic spell, so Gristock could be infinitely strong; there was just no way to tell from that.

Poseidon shook his head and closed his eyes, determined to sleep. He would take over Rogan's place once it became darker. They had food from the inn, but no time to stop and sleep. The wagon was more than adequate. Determined to see what Hali could do, Poseidon clutched her to him, reveling in the feel of her body against his, and let sleep claim him.

***

Hali's dad, David, sat in the dive shop, changing out the face of the mask for one that was prescription. He sighed and brought his hands up and rubbed his eyes. He really was getting older. Older, more years gone by, more time with only his adopted son and his actual daughter. David wondered idly what Hali would think if he told her the truth. He had no fear for her, besides the fear of a father for a daughter, because he knew better than almost anyone that gods were real. And that they protected with fierceness.

Gods, he missed Amaliya, missed her with an ache that was a hole in his chest. There really was no getting over the love of your life. Your soul mate. But she was gone, and he couldn't help but wish that she hadn't made that pact. Zeus had been furious that they were in love, that Amaliya had been pregnant. She had made a bargain with Zeus; that she would return and never come back to Earth, as long as their child could stay with David. Zeus had accepted.

David rolled his shoulders, the pain at that meeting still with him. The door to the dive shop dinged as a customer came in. He put down the mask, and headed out to the main room. "Welcome to the d..." David couldn't speak. Nothing came out. There was a beautiful, ethereal woman standing hesitantly in the doorway, apprehension and love shinning on her face.

"Zeus relented." In two seconds flat, David had his arms wrapped tightly around his beautiful naiad, tears and laughter getting tangled together in his throat. She was crying unashamedly, her hands tangled in his hair, laughter and happiness pouring out of her. "I am back!"


	39. Chapter 39

"Try again." Hali scrunched up her face, concentrating with all of her might on the tip of her finger, desperately focusing all her attention on it. Nothing. She scrunched harder, the muscles in her body tightening.

The carriage jolted to the side, sending her flailing wildly, hands swinging around trying to grab purchase anywhere. Anywhere happened to be the seat bench under her butt with one hand, and the railing in front of her with her forehead.

Groaning she sat up, gingerly rubbing the tender spot, shooting a hateful glare at the sheepish man beside her. "Sorry, I was watching you, not the road." Poseidon actually looked abashed, not faking in, and Hali raised her eyebrow at him, still skeptical. The past couple of days had revealed a side of him that she found endearingly annoying. He sure liked to tease her.

"Well you would be a suck driver." Leaning back against the carriage bench she glared at the tip of her finger. It was night, and the only brightness came from the glow of the moon. It was on its waning side, but the light still spread and shone enough for her to distinguish Poseidon's features. And her annoying finger. "I always hated my fingers..."

"How can you hate your fingers? You are just being childish about this!" Hali jerked upright again, turning to him.

"I thought you said you LIKED that about me!" She shouted at him. As soon as she did, she clapped said fingers over her mouth and shot a glance behind her. In the back of the wagon Rogan and the queen were sleeping. While Hali and Poseidon had rested, they had taken their turn driving and keeping watch. Now it was their turn to sleep. They were still asleep, but they again had that physical barrier blocking the two of them. And it didn't look like either wanted it. Their bodies and faces were turned towards each other, and Danielle's hand lay in the space between them, offering it to him. They should just get with it already.

"I think that we are doing this wrong." Poseidon wrinkled his brow. "Let's see... all of the times that you have used your magic. First there was the fact that you turned yourself into a mermaid, then reviving me and allowing me to breathe, and then that barrier to protect me." Poseidon nodded. "In all of those situations your life was in danger, or mine was." Here he stopped and threw her a self satisfied grin. "That must mean something right?"

Hali blushed furiously. "Just because I saved your life doesn't mean..." Hali stopped in mid-sentence. "Hey, the first two were water situations. And the barrier I put up, it reminded me of sun shining through water, the patterns that swirled through."

Poseidon gave the lagging horse a little click with the reigns, and he picked up his feet again. They would have to change horses soon. "Your mother is a naiad. It would make perfect sense if your magic would be water based." Poseidon shook his head, disgust in his voice. "I set you up with the wrong task! This time, try not to make a spark of light, try to make a drop of water."

Hali nodded and scrunched up her face, sticking her pointer finger into the air, and concentrated as hard as she could on it. Instead of a ball of water, rain poured out of the air above her hand. "Ahhh!" Hali dropped her concentration, but the water that had appeared already had soaked her skirt. "What?!"

Poseidon sat beside her, his back stiff, his posture perfect. If it wasn't for the shaking shoulders, she would have assumed him to be a perfect gentleman. "Well," Poseidon sputtered between chuckles, "At least we know you can work at it!"

Hali growled at him, but she was determined to get this. She didn't know what help she might be, but it was better than nothing. She held up her finger again, albeit her hand was over the side of the wagon, and she concentrated one more. A ball of water, a ball of water

Poseidon shook his head in amazement. She really was extraordinary. Hali sat beside him. Or, to be more precise, the swirl of her barrier sat beside him, her inside of it. As he watched, the barrier melted away, and she gave him an excited smile. "Oh Gods! I never imagined magic would be like this!" She bit her lip and concentrated, and between them, a churning mass of water appeared. She slowly shaped it into a ball, using her hands and her mind. In a minute, the liquid had turned into a semi-solid, and she was holding it in her hand. "This is unreal!"

Poseidon felt a deep glow within his chest. He was so proud of her. She took to her magic like she was born to it. And she was. This had always been inside of her, dormant, waiting for her to discover its possibilities. It had been about six hours since she had rained on herself. She had only gotten better. He looked ahead in the path, and saw that the road was again leaving the shore line, heading into the forests. It was darker in there, and they might be able to see if she could make some light.  
The Rest in the Results!

"Hali, let's try something else. Try to make some light out of your magic. But don't think of fire, think of bioluminescence, the creatures that use chemicals to make lights in the water." Beside him, she nodded. She carelessly tossed the blue ball into the trees beside them, her concentration already on her other hand.

A large explosion rocked the silent night. Poseidon jumped, instantly on guard. Rogan and Danielle came awake instantly, and Hali jumped, her palm flaring brightly as the ball of bioluminescence came to life. She whipped around, holding it up high, peering into the night. Poseidon saw another flash of light, this time on her left hand. The cursed ring was glowing with a soft blue light, emitting its own influence.

"Oh my gosh." Hali whispered beside him, her attention rived just a little behind their small wagon. Poseidon jerked his attention away from the ring, and looked at what the source of the explosion was. A large hole had been blasted out of the earth, cleaving away at the rocks that they had been driving on a few seconds before. Poseidon pulled the terrified horse to a halt, and quickly jumped down, going over to see what had happened.

Indeed, there was a large crater, about five feet wide and three feet deep. And instead of the scorch marks that he had expected, there was about three inches of water at the bottom, and splashes of it all radiating out of it.

Poseidon turned back to the wagon, dazed. "Hali, you made a water bomb."


	40. Chapter 40

Atlantis was in pandemonium. At least, compared to the quiet, clean and empty place it had been before. Once Hali and Poseidon had been captured by the Atlantian guards, they really hadn't left their prison room. They had been escorted to the palace, but the city itself still remained a mystery to them.

However, the disappearance of the Queen obviously had some impact on the stability of the country. As they walked through the grand entrance to the city, city guards stopped each person and checked their face. The crowd that was slowly filtering through the entrance was angry, flustered and fearful. Many people were carrying bags and different types of wares. The people outside of the city must be seeking the security of walls and of the army.

"I heard that the south is preparing an uprising! That it was them who broke into the ball and captured the Queen and Lord Gristock! Thank goodness Lord Gristock escaped!" Hali jerked violently, and Poseidon tensed beside her, his hand that was holding her elbow tightened. Hali gazed up at Poseidon, shock and horror evidence in her face.

"He is back. How did he get here before us?" They whispered in monotones to each other, trying to blend into the crowd of Atlantians. Poseidon clenched his jaw, his puzzlement reflected in his sea green eyes today.

"I heard that it was the gods. The queen must have done something that offended them! I never could believe that such a young child would become queen. But she has seemed to work for the better of the country." The crowd slowly shifted forward. By now Hali could see the guards. They were taking special interest in young women and tall young men.

"So, Gristock is in charge, huh? These men must be looking for Danielle and Rogan. They won't pay any attention to us." Hali knew her words to be true. Gristock could not afford any mistakes with his coup; otherwise things would rapidly go downhill. The civilians seemed to think very highly of the queen, more apt to take her word over Gristock's. Plus Gristock knew of Rogan's capabilities. His strong magic would be hard for him to combat. I am the wild card, the trump. Hali thought a little smugly. She had never had such an important role before, and she had to admit that it was a very giddy feeling.

Gazing up at the few clouds in the sky, Hali focused her attention. Slowly, very slowly, she gathered the clouds, creating a nice thunderhead. Hali held that cloud there as Poseidon led her through the check point. As she predicted, the men gave them a passing glance, obviously noting their distinct differences to their two suspects, and let them pass with ease. Once they were past the check point, Poseidon steered her until they came to a relatively quiet city center. Hali sat down on a bench, and again focused her attention on building up the storm instead of holding it.

She had to be slow, carefully creating the illusion that this was natural. If Gristock was actually back, then he would be expecting some matter of interference from Rogan. But, as she said before, she was the wild card. No one knew about her and about her abilities, which allowed them a huge advantage.

The storm grew larger and larger, the blackness of the clouds threatening the peoples busy activities. Many glances of worry were thrown to the sky, only to quickly return to their task. No one suspected any foul play.

"Well, now seems the time to do this." Poseidon nodded his head. Hali turned her gaze upwards. "Now is the time to start."

Rogan and Danielle huddled in the crowd, their cloaks drawn up over their heads. So far, so good. The intimidating thunderhead brewing was causing the guards to hurry their search, taking less care to look at the people, often throwing glances up at the sky. They pushed their way forward, but still kept back slightly. It wouldn't do to go before the time was right.

Just then, the sky's opened up. Lightning left a vivid streak across the sky, the rain pelting down in sheets as the reverberation of the thunder shook the air. The people stuck outside shrieked and pushed into the gate, compressing everything. Rogan and Danielle allowed themselves to be swept up in the tide.

The harried guards started to let people by even quicker, barely glancing at those who passed. Danielle followed a woman with a screaming toddler. The guard allowed them through and brought his gaze to hers. Out of habit now, the man nodded and waved her through. Danielle quickly passed. For an instant, the guard's eyes seemed to widen in shock, but with the tremendous rush of people he was quickly diverted. Rogan passed through in the same manner, a little bit farther behind. "Well done Hali." Danielle whispered to herself as she caught up with the man waiting for her.

"We need to get going." Danielle nodded, and they set off in the direction of the residence district. Their meeting point was Danielle's childhood home, the place that was probably the most private and the least likely to be discovered.

"Hali!" Poseidon grabbed her before she slumped backwards off the bench. She was pale and trembling slightly, and she let out a huge breath. The rain lessened slightly, but the storm still continued.

"I'm alright," she sighed, nestling into his shoulder as he sat on the bench beside her. "Just tired." She breathed a little bit more, and then sat up straighter. "The storm will wear itself out in about two hours. It may sprinkle some after that, but I had to push myself to make it that strong." Hali glanced up at Poseidon's face. His jaw was clenched and his lips pressed together. The rain beat down on them, warm and drenching.

"This is too much for you. You have only just gained this power, and you are pushing yourself too hard." Poseidon snapped his gaze to hers. Hali just stared at him, awed at his worry. He scowled. "Don't give me that look. It makes me want to..." He shook his head and looked away. "Anyways, we should go." Hali just nodded, never changing her expression. She knew she looked like some love struck puppy, but she didn't care. This was how she felt. Perhaps Poseidon would get used to it, even if he couldn't return it. Even if it made him uncomfortable.

She didn't know what the next few days would bring, so she was going to give it her all, no matter what.


	41. Chapter 41

Poseidon and Hali sat side by side on a faded couch, looking around in wonder as they patted themselves dry. This was the queen's childhood home? Compared to the palace, this place was very... poor. The furniture was old and faded; the wear and tear evident in the sagging of the seat cushions and the nicks in the wood on the chairs and table. The view from the few windows was of the white sides of other buildings. Although not plush and opulent, the carpets and walls were clean, and everything felt homey. And this part, compared to the castle, felt like heaven. Hali relaxed into the comfortable couch and breathed a bit. The light fragrance of lemon drifted through the air, combining with Poseidon's. He was splayed on the couch beside her, taking up much more than half.

Somewhere upstairs, Danielle's mother was getting beds ready. Apparently the whole city was swarming with guards, so everyone would have to lay low for a while. Tomorrow morning, Hali and Poseidon were going to go down to the marina and try to find out where they moved her powerboat to. They wouldn't have just left it there, and without knowing how to use it, hopefully they couldn't have taken it too far. Perhaps she could be home by tomorrow. Hali sighed blissfully, and then winced at the sharp pain that stabbed at her. Once she was back, Poseidon would leave...

"I want the truth now." The hard tone of voice coming from the almost always silent man jarred Hali out of her thoughts. Sitting straight up, she stared at Rogan, standing in the doorway to the hall. His expression was hard, arms crossed over his chest. He was being very serious. "You, Hali, you are able to use magic, yet you know nothing of it. And Poseidon, you are unable to use magic, yet you are teaching her as if you have personal experience. Magic is not fickle; to come and go as it pleases. What is the truth here?" Danielle, who was sitting in a chair off to the side, reading the cities paper, gasped in shock, her eyes wide as she tried to placate Rogan. She stopped when she saw his gaze. Determination was as prominent as his question.

Hali blinked. And then had to do it again. She was torn between two different emotions. One was relief that it wasn't anything more serious than this question. With that expression, it almost seemed as if he was to accuse them of working with Gristock. The other emotion was awe. This man, although he may not say much, really paid attention. Respect filled her. No wonder he was a body guard for the queen. Thank god he was in love with Danielle; otherwise she might have been in serious trouble.

Hali turned between Rogan and Danielle, eager to show that they were not enemies, "Well, you see-"

"Hali, stop." She whipped her head around to stare at Poseidon. Although he appeared relaxed, she could feel the menace and tension emanating out from him. "Would you even believe if we told you? Most people now do not. And if you don't this will be rather hard for both of us. You will suspect us, and there will be nothing left to do. I know you are not the type of man to let anything happen to your queen. Don't think I don't know how rarely you actually slept on our journey here." Hali was stunned. Rogan had rarely slept? Thinking back on it, she couldn't tell. She shrugged inwardly. She wasn't too observant when it came to other people.

"I grant it, you are aware. However, only people from the south side of the island can use magic. And the southern citizens bear no love for the queen. Most of the traitors are from there. You could have ample opportune-"

"This has nothing to do with Atlantis." Poseidon cut in severely. Rogan blinked in shocked, and then inclined his head, indicating he should continue. Hali kept her mouth shut. She didn't know what was going on. Besides, this was Poseidon's secret to tell, not hers.

"Do you believe in the Gods, that of Zeus and Olympus." Poseidon asked, direct and forward. His teeth were clenched, his square jaw prominent. The light that came from the colored glass globes illuminated his hair, the greedy rays catching the gold and winking out to the occupants in the room, inviting gaze and fingers alike. Hali would have loved to oblige. But her shyness was a strong factor, along with the tension in the room.

Rogan just looked at Poseidon, measuring him. Finally he uttered one word. "Yes".

Poseidon's face made no change. Instead an eyebrow rose. "You do." He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Very well. I will tell you what I know, if you will tell me what you know. I am aware that gods cannot enter Atlantis. Perhaps you would know why?"

Rogan again stayed silent and studied Poseidon. Once, his gaze flicked over to her, and then rested again on Poseidon. "There is an ancient stone made by the gods many years ago. I activated it. No god can stay within its radius. They are expelled."

"What?!" Poseidon was no longer relaxed, he pushed his body forward, everything intense and focused. Hali wanted desperately to lay a hand on his shoulder, somehow get closer to him. But he just seemed so far away right now. She clenched her hands in her lap. Yes, she must remember that he would be leaving her soon. Swallowing, she clenched her teeth, fully aware of what was happening. "How do you have the forbidden stone? The Kakos Petra? That has been lost for many years! And to activate it..."

Here Rogan shot a question back to Poseidon. "How do you know of the Kakos Petra?" Poseidon leaned back, a sardonic smile twisting his lips. "I have never lied to you. My name is Poseidon, but that is also who I am. I am the god the ocean, Poseidon." A smug smile spread out this time. Hali rolled her eyes. He really could be too conceited.

"Like Hades you are. No god could come near the Kakos Petra." Rogan's eyes were narrowed, disbelief prominently displayed there. Hali jumped in here, determined to defend her knowledge and Poseidon.

"It is true. There is just a bit of a complication." She held up her hand, presenting the ring on her finger. "This somehow negates his god powers." She bit her lip and looked to Poseidon. He nodded for her to continue. "Also, apparently my mother is a naiad. Meaning I have some of her magical powers. I have just become aware of them, and so Poseidon has been helping and teaching me."

"A naiad?" Danielle spoke up for the first time. "A nymph of the water. How did you discover that?" Her curiosity and wonder won out over Danielle's idea to stay silent.

Hali smiled and said, "I turned into a mermaid." Danielle gasped her eyes gleaming and awestruck. "That is how we survived the fall from the cliff. I changed on impact, and then I..." Hali blushed here. She had kissed Poseidon... but she was reluctant to tell the two near strangers that. "Ah, and then I helped Poseidon once he was pushed in." She finished lamely. Danielle did not seem to notice her hesitation. Hali looked down at her hands, suddenly very aware of Poseidon's eyes on her. She felt heat in her cheeks, and she realized she must be blushing.

"Very well." Rogan spoke. "As you cannot prove to us that you are Poseidon..."

Poseidon snorted. "Like hell I can't. But it wouldn't matter. Just flashing power isn't equivalent to being a god, as you are evidence of," Rogan's jaw clenched harder. Hali had to admit that Poseidon did sound very arrogant and godly right now, "But I know things that any normal person, even one with magic, wouldn't know."

"Oh yes? Such as?" Rogan stood straight, an eyebrow lifted. He looked just as arrogant as Poseidon. Hali looked heavenwards and breathed out a prayer. Zeus save her from stupid men. Then she made a moue with her mouth. Take that back. Send that to Hera. Zeus was just as much of one, if the stories were anything near true.

Poseidon clasped his hands together, everything in him serious and somber. His eyes were fixed on Rogan. "Such as the Kakos Petra. And... you are the Destroyer. The one who can only kill. The one who would end the world."

The room went silent and the tension was like living bonds. Shock stopped Hali from moving. Danielle had brought her hand up to her mouth, covering the horror and sadness that wanted to escape. Pain flashed across Rogan's face. He bowed his head, and then looked up once more. His mask was back into place. "Yes. I am."


	42. Chapter 42

Hali found herself standing on a field of clouds. To her left was Hades, to her right stood Zeus. All along down either side of them were many other Gods, some of whom she could pick out, others that seemed strange and foreign to her. Before her surrounded in eerie green sparks and lights was a man. She knew without a doubt that he was the Destroyer.

The man cackled at them. At the gods. With no fear, with no worries. He seemed to taunt them. The man had no distinguishable features, despite being a solid presence in front of her; he had no height, no form, no facial features or limbs. He was a man, but he wasn't. He was real, but he wasn't.

His mouth opened, yet there was no mouth. His voice echoed out to all the gods standing there, but no words passed his lips. "I will kill you all. Someday. Is that not why you made me? So that I would destroy the world? What is sooner rather than later to beings that live forever?" The green light surged. Hali felt utter terror and fear, but also the determination to destroy the man who would kill them.

Beside her Zeus yelled in fury, a lightning bolt shattered across the clouds, hurtling towards the man standing so defiantly before the gods. At the roar, Hali instinctively brought up her own magic, aware that beside her and down the lines, all of the other gods where following suit. Just before the powerful barrage of magic hit the man, he laughed. And Hali knew that he would not be killed so easily.

She fell out of herself. At one instant she was standing with the gods, another she was surrounded by the green flames. She panicked for an instant, thinking that she was being devoured by the Destroyer... before she realized she was the Destroyer. She saw the magic hurtling towards her, the lightening from Zeus, the tidal wave from Poseidon, who stood beside Hades, who threw out ropes of dark cutting death. She threw her head back and laughed. And died as the magic hit her.

Hali felt herself shifting. She was no longer a man with a body but no form, she was a human. And she rapidly changed. Sometimes she was a man, sometime she was a woman. Always she had the green fire blazing in her, most of the time it was never strong enough to surround her. The clothing she wore changed. It became more modern. Hali looked down at her hands, the rapid shifting of bodies confusing her. Finally she settled. She looked up. Before her was a mirror. In the mirror, she was reflected. But she was Rogan. And the green fire sparked within her eyes. But she also saw the white that was coming off of the tips of the green. It was... purified.

Hali sat up with a gasp, her heart racing wildly. She looked around her dark room. No clouds, no mirror, no green flames. Breathing out a sigh of release, she leaned back against the head board of the bed she was in, her hands over her heart. What in the devil was that dream. She ran her tongue over her lips, thinking back on the vision. For she knew it was a vision. It had happened. What she had dreamed had been real. The Destroyer was immensely evil... but Rogan's green flames had been changed. Why was that? What was going on?

All at once Hali felt alone. And scared. She needed Poseidon. She slipped out of the bed and crept over to the door. It was still late at night, but she didn't know what time. Peeking out into the hall, she looked down to see the four doors that led into the other bedrooms. She quietly closed her door and lightly walked to the farthest one. Her hand on the doorknob, Hali hesitated. What was she doing?

Taking a deep breath, Hali rested her forehead against the coolness of the door. Inside was the man she loved... and she was well aware that she was just a speck on his lifeline. She knew that a woman walking into a man's bedroom in the middle of the night was not something that most respectable girls do... but she didn't want to stop. She was frightened and she had gotten used to Poseidon's muscles and warmth surrounding her. Whenever they slept, whenever he carried her. His skin was smooth and beautiful, and she loved being close to him. The slide of his skin against hers...

Hali gulped, her heart skipping wildly again. It is the fear, she told herself. The fear of the dream. Pressing her lips together she justified the reason to herself. She was scared... and she wanted answers. Yes, she was going into Poseidon's room because she wanted answers. Her stomach in her throat, she opened the door.

Through the soft light spilling through the doorway, she saw Poseidon sprawled out, half under the covers. His strong face was relaxed, looking boyish and utterly adorable. A hard band tightened around her chest, and Hali could barely breathe. He was so utterly beautiful. From under the blanket that covered the left half of his body, she could see that he was shirtless, wearing boxer like shorts... and that was it. This was the least clothed she had ever seen him, and she had to admit that it played with her mind. The light burnished his skin to gold, twinkling merrily in his chaotic hair. He mumbled slightly and brought one of his large hands up to cover his eyes.

Hali quickly stepped into the room and closed the door, leaning back against it. Well, she swallowed, she was in now. What good was justifying coming here with the excuse of asking questions if he was asleep? She really should go back to her room now...

Instead Hali stepped forward. She wasn't thinking anymore. At least not about the dream. Now it was about the muscles that still remained so cut even while he slept. She lovingly traced his pecs with her eyes, running them down his wonderful six-pack. Looking at the muscles on display across his shoulder and arms, she shivered. She didn't know why, but strong arms were such a turn on. Really a turn on.

Swallowing, Hali sat on the bed next to him, gingerly, hoping not to wake him. Poseidon dropped his hand, and moved his face to her. In the moonlight spilling through the window, she watched him breathe. His scent filled her senses. Whenever she stood on the shore and watched the ebb and flow of the sea, Hali always felt surges of emotion. Contentment, awe, wonder, but she had also been filled with loneliness. As Poseidon's ocean scent filled her up, she finally understood why. She didn't have him. Her loneliness was soothed by this man's presence. Her breath shuddered into her, bringing along all of the emotions that she always felt, plus a new one: love.

Biting her lip, Hali very gently placed her fingertips on Poseidon's forehead. The warm touch of his skin burned through her. She smoothed her hand down his temple, brushing back the silky strands of his gold hair. He mumbled once more in his sleep, and this time Hali thought she caught her name. She raised her hand again, and brought it up to her lips, biting her thumb nail. She should go now. She was obviously going to wake him up if she stayed here, and she couldn't disturb his sleep. He looked too peaceful and relaxed.

Hali took one last look at him before she shifted to get off the bed. Placing her feet on the floor, she tipped her head back, looking at the ceiling in the dark. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay next to him forever. She gave a small, self-depreciating laugh. Which was just ridiculous. Once he could, Poseidon was going to get as far away from her as possible so that he could regain his powers. The pain that this brought was sharp, hunching her shoulders, bringing her hand up to her heart, and a sob to her closed lips. Being in love... was absolutely terrible when they didn't love you in return.

Firming her resolve, Hali pressed her hands into the bed beside her, and started to stand up. Half way there, though, a strong arm banded around her stomach, pulling her back. "Oh!" Shock drove the breath from her lungs and made her eyes close as she landed on her back. Her hair tangled about her face and the pillow. Opening her eyes, Hali found Poseidon's sleep filled ones staring back into hers.

"Oh, I really do like this dream," Poseidon whispered in a sleep husky voice, desire staring out of his eyes into hers, sending a shiver down her back. "Hali in my bed." Then he brought his lips down onto hers.


	43. Chapter 43

This really is a wonderful dream, Poseidon thought groggily, running his lips across the smooth skin on dream Hali's cheek. Her wonderful clean scent rose up and permeated his senses, pushing his dream further to the forefront of his awareness. This really was perfect.

At first, Hali seemed surprised by the kiss, lying stiff underneath his body. But when he started to trail light kisses across her cheekbone, slowly brushing to her ear and nipping at the lob gently, she loosened up, softened. Poseidon smiled against her cheek, and pulled back slightly to look down at her. She stared up at him, something glinting in her eyes. For a split second Poseidon paused. What was that emotion?

The feeling of her body beneath his quickly banished the thoughts from his mind. He fully intended to enjoy this dream of his... and he turned his attention to her swollen lips. Smiling wickedly, he dropped his head down once more to kiss her. This time Hali did not hesitate. Poseidon quickly deepened the kiss, brushing his lips back and forth across her, urging them to part for him. Hali moaned and brought her hands up, threading one hand through his golden hair while the other clasped desperately at his shoulder. Poseidon felt his body tightening more and more, the heat of her pushing reasonable thoughts, any thoughts besides her, out of his mind.

Wrapping both of his arms around Hali's slender waist, he arched her off of the bed, pulling her tighter into his body. Hali's head dropped back, exposing her neck and spilling her hair across the white pillows, her breaths leaving her parted lips in gasps. Poseidon buried his lips against the skin of her neck and shoulder, growling so low that it was more of a vibration in his chest. Hali shivered in his arms, her breath coming faster. Bringing his head up once more, Poseidon stared at her. Her face was flushed with arousal, her body soft and giving. The feeling of her legs intertwined with his; of her breasts pressed against his chest... he gritted his teeth trying to regain some semblance of control.

Hali opened her eyes and stared at him, her pupils dilated. Her hands had been roaming across his back, grabbing the flexed muscles in his arms, and smoothing across his skin. Once she saw him looking at her though, she stopped. She carefully brought her hands around up to his face. Cradling his jaw in her palms, she reached up and slowly pressed kisses across his nose, the arch of his cheeks, his eyelashes, before settling one perfect, simple kiss on his lips. Something in Poseidon broke, and every instinct within him roared mine!

Shaken beyond belief at this sudden, irrational, and entirely undeniable possessiveness, Poseidon pulled back from Hali and stared at the beauty before him. He then rolled off the bed and sat heavily on the floor, pressing his back against the cool wood. Panting and blinking rapidly, Poseidon took a little time to sort things out. In those few seconds, he discerned a couple of very crucial things. First of all, he knew without a doubt that he never wanted to let Hali go. And second of all... this was no dream. Hali truly was with him in his bedroom, and he had... he dare not look at her right now. He was too dangerous.

"Hali," Poseidon momentarily shocked himself by how husky his voice was. Clearing his throat once, he started again, "Hali... I am sorry. I didn't mean..." that was a lie. Trying to get a hold of his body and think reasonably was very problematic. "You don't deserve to be treated that way, but I... I think that I had better go." Poseidon kept his eyes trained on the door, breathing shaky measured breaths. He stood up and walked quickly, almost jogging to the door.

"Wait!" At her cry, Poseidon froze. Don't stop! Poseidon willed his legs... but her voice halted him. Very carefully he turned around, locking his knees when he saw her sitting up in the bed. The white sheets contrasted with her silky tanned skin and light brown hair, which was in a tangled, gorgeous mess clouding around her shoulders. The silvery light from the window illuminated her flushed face, bruised and swollen lips, and her desire filled eyes. He felt himself weakening. Especially as he saw the white nightdress she was wearing really did very little to hide anything.

Hali wet her lips, and Poseidon watched greedily, wishing that he could be doing that. Shaking himself mentally, he focused on her again. But he really needed to get out of this room... perhaps find some cold water. Poseidon backed up to the door, and held the doorknob in his palm. All he had to do was turn and step back...

"Don't go." Every thought of escape flew from his mind. "Don't... leave." Hali looked down, her face flushing even more. "I... don't want you to stop. I..." here Hali jerked her gaze up to his, her intensity searing him. "I love you."

Love you... Everything in Poseidon boiled down to one point, Hali. He stopped thinking, he stopped breathing. And when she held her arms out for him, Hali sitting so desirable sitting on the bed, he raced to get back into them and to claim her lips as his own.

***

"Rogan will without a doubt come here." Gristock strode angrily across the small dark room, eerie green light playing in indistinguishable patterns on the wall, emanating from a stone sitting in the middle of the chamber. "We both know more than any other Atlantean."

Jason lounged against one of the large rocks sticking up randomly through the chamber, his pose belying his tension. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted him. Even if he is the Destroyer. He is not the first one, and yet the world still remains. I don't quite trust the legend. Something must not be right. Maybe there really aren't gods, just magic." His cold face sneered at the rune covered stone, his hatred for Rogan evident in every word.

Gristock bristled and roared "Of course they are real! I am a direct descendant of Ares! How else do you think that I have this magnificent power?" Here Gristock flexed his hand, shooting red sparks up into the air, illuminating the room in the glow. However, the green runes still played on the wall, overshadowing the red.

"Rogan knows that they are real, he will probably come here and try to destroy the stone. That power will alert the gods that the Destroyer is using massive amounts of his destructive energy and will draw them here. The gods will not tolerate anyone trying to usurp them." Gristock turned and glared at Jason. "That includes me and you. So you better catch him and kill him before he gets near here."

"Easy for you to say. I know what he is capable of, even in small scales. And where will you be, Oh Powerful One?" Jason taunted. And then ducked as a shower of red sparks hit the rock beside him.

"I will be here. In case you screw up. Although he may be powerful, he is still human. Run him through with your sword, and he will die." Gristock's intensity was suddenly replaced with a mocking, careless facade. "The same applies to you, Jason." The mask dropped. "Don't screw this up. You won't like the consequences."


	44. Chapter 44

Hali lay naked in Poseidon's arms, sleepily content. She was the happiest she had ever been, even overshadowing the realization that she was a mermaid. No words could describe her night... it had been beyond anything she had ever dreamed about. And as she lay on his arm, her legs intertwined with his, she felt no embarrassment, no worries about how he saw her. Throughout the night, he had shown her that she was beautiful to him. And he was the only one she worried about.

Hali nuzzled into Poseidon's shoulder more firmly, gazing up at his sleeping face. She knew that she was probably showing her heart on her sleeve, but she honestly didn't care. He looked beautiful. His silky eyelashes formed a shadow crescent on his cheeks. A relaxed, content smile lay perfectly on his lips, softening his jaw line and his cheekbones. Nothing was more perfect than him. And this moment. But reality was intruding. The sun shone through the curtains, the teasing lights promising the end of her fantasy. Dropping her head down, she sighed. Time to get up.

She leaned up on one elbow, her other arm coming forward, brushing her fingertips lightly against his lips. Hali watched with a smile as he slowly woke up. It was the cutest thing ever. Poseidon tightened is arms around her, then slowly blinked open his eyes. His sleep filled eyes showed his warmth, and his lips parted under her fingers. "Good morning." His chest rumbled with his words, sending a shiver down her spine.

An irrepressible smile burst from her, "Good morning." Poseidon grinned down at her, and then rolled them over, bringing her onto his chest, hitching her farther up. She gave a little shriek of laughter, amused and delighted. Her face was on level with his, her hair spilling in a shining, tangled curtain around them, cutting off the rest of the world. Laughter bubbled up from within her, shaking her and pleasing him. The happiest smile she had ever seen him wear greeted her with its warmth. She pressed her hands to his jaw, a kiss to his nose and pulled back. He grinned up at her, and then arched his head up, brushing his own gentle kiss across her mouth. "I guess it is time to get up."

Hali nodded down at him, her smile fading a little bit. "Oh, no," Poseidon whispered up to her, sliding on hand through her hair and cradling the back of her head, "Keep smiling for me." When he got her smile as a response, he nodded, and sat up. Turning and adjusting her, he brought the linen sheets around her while he slipped from the bed. Unabashedly, Hali watched him get dressed. The sun really did love him, burnishing his muscles and hair. And gods, was he ever ripped, Hali breathed out, feeling her heart jump in her chest. He was undeniably sexy.

Poseidon brought over her night shift, and dropped it on the bed, sitting down next to her. Reaching out once more, he brought her back into the circle of his arms, and dropped his cheek onto her hair. They just sat like that, unknowing and uncaring of how much time passed. But once they heard voices break out downstairs, they knew it was time. Apparently everyone else was up and ready to start off the day. They both sighed.

Hali slipped out of Poseidon's arms and changed into the shift. She would have been perfectly fine staying like this, but she knew that there would be quite a bit of shock if she went down dressed only in the shift. She silently walked to the door and opened it, looking back once more to the man who sat on the bed. They were both solemn now. "I will see you downstairs." Hali spoke to him quietly. He nodded, but didn't stand. Hali remembered his words and gave him a brilliant smile, remembering all that she had done with him, all that she had told him. "I love you." She whispered once more as she went out and shut the door on the most perfect memory she had.

"You will not be able to leave the harbor." Rogan intoned flatly. "Anything connected to escape will be carefully modified. They can't risk the queen disappearing even farther. They know she is alive, they know that I am alive and working against them. But," Here Rogan turned to look at Hali and Poseidon, sitting side by side at the dining table, eating a simple breakfast, "They know nothing about you two still being alive. And even less about your magic. You will be the key."

Hali nodded firmly. She knew that. She was the secret weapon, she remembered with a little gloating smile. It quickly faded when she realized what she might have to do. She might have to kill someone. That took the polish of her little self-made title.

They were infiltrating. Hali shook her head in bewilderment. It was just like out of some movie. A cross between Lord of the Rings and... Terminator. She wrinkled up her nose. Okay, nothing like them. But it was still bizarre, and nothing like she expected.

"The Kakos Petra is within one of the underground chambers, near the ice rooms," This was said more to Danielle's benefit. She sat primly in a chair, looking more like a maid than the queen of this magnificent and dangerous country. But her facial features belied her look. She was cool and calm, but the intelligence etched there showed that she knew far more than she was letting on. "I will have to get close enough and stay undistracted for long enough to shatter the stone. The massive surge of the Destroyer powers will draw immediate attention from the Gods, bringing them to Atlantis to stop me, and therefore they will stop Gristock. But the stone will have to be destroyed before they can get close. Gristock will not risk this. He will have his own legion of men inside the room. Probably four, as there isn't much room."

Danielle spoke, "Then the passage will be watched. Probably by Jason," her voice grew biting as she spit out the name, before it smoothed over to her more controlled tone. "And at least four men as well." She sat and thought slightly before continuing. "Gristock will be inside. Unfortunately I see no way to lure Gristock out from his place, but Jason is easily persuaded by a pretty face and an eager body. I am sorry Hali," Danielle turned, the obvious dislike at the plans revealed on her face and in her voice, "You only will be able to get close enough to do the damage."

Hali pressed her lips together and nodded once. She was going to have to incapacitate a number of people, or she would have to... kill them. Poseidon was rigid with worry and anger. "This is unacceptable!" He growled out, pounding a fist on the table. "If I only had my powers..." Hali flinched. This was her fault.

"If you had your powers," Danielle snapped, "Then you wouldn't be here at all! The Kakos Petra would have kicked you out. Don't bemoan the facts. You are here, helpless besides your physical strength. Use that, and leave the magic to Rogan and Hali." Danielle slumped a little. "At least you are able to help." She shot a glance to Rogan, who had watched the entire episode silently, arms crossed over his chest, unmovable as stone. But now he spoke up once more.

"Quite right. The Queen will not be going anywhere near fighting. You will have to do quite a bit of rebuilding of your claim after this whole incident." Rogan actually showed some emotions, he sighed and brought his hand up to his face, rubbing his eyes and the bridge of his nose. "It will take a lot of work. Probably the best thing to do would be to choose a husba..." he stopped and cleared his throat. "We will talk politics after all of this is over."

Hali watched Rogan and Danielle carefully. Both had tensed up when Rogan had started to say something about getting a husband. Could they be any more obvious? Hali shot a glance over to Poseidon, and he returned hers with one of amusement. Would they just get on with it?

Rogan spoke again, his words strong and direct. "Okay, here is what we will do." And Hali sat forward, very much aware how important this was to her new friends and to Poseidon. After this she would be going home. And she would be alone. Clenching her jaw she concentrated. One thing at a time. One at a time...


	45. Chapter 45

Danielle watched as Poseidon finished tucking a bonnet over Hali's sun streaked hair. They looked nothing like what they did when they had first come to Atlantis. Then they had been garbed in strange clothes, sacks it had seemed, and their legs had been bare below the knee. Quite strange garments. Now they were dressed in casual peasant style. Proper length skirt and pants, waistcoat and overcoat, bonnet, shawl. They were all in place.

But beneath Hali's proper attire was a pair of tight boys' breeches, and a loose shirt. Once they made it into the palace, she would not be able to fight or defend herself if she was encumbered with the heavy skirts. And the bonnet would quickly be tossed aside as well, she imagined.

Danielle clenched her hands in the folds of her skirt. They were going to go save her kingdom... without her. She would be left behind to brood and wait. Wait to see if they were successful... wait to see if they all died. What if she did not know? What if they were crushed, and Gristock never made any mention of them. She would be left alive, hiding in her own city, waiting for the smallest chance to be turned in. For without a doubt, eventually she would be captured. Danielle was no fool. Her best bet of survival was this mini coup, and if it failed, she would be caught. Her mother and she did not get along well, and Danielle knew that money was the all-powerful persuader.

But she had something to say before they left. She may be useless now, but she was fully aware that she would have to work hard to make herself a stable leader again. And despite the hardships, she did not want to resign being the Queen. She like it, just not the trouble that came with it. Such as the Matrimonial Ball.

Rogan came around the corner from the stairs, tucking in a loosely tied cravat. He looked... well exceptional. Nothing could dull him down. But with his hat, he would be able to pass through a crowd with very little notice. Especially with all of the chaos that the city was experiencing. Another reason to hurry along their plans. Order needed to be restored.

"Rogan," Danielle stood from the corner chair that she had been nestled in. "I must speak with you before you go. In private." Her grave voice drew all three sets of eyes to her. Danielle would not be swayed by this, despite the fact that she was nervous. She had endured far worse... thousands of eyes instead of this few. From the door way, Rogan nodded once, and then turned around to go to another, quieter room.

Danielle stood gracefully, and followed Rogan down the small hall to the side parlor. It was quite small, with only a couch, two chairs and a fire place. Very small, Danielle amended as she took the farthest chair to the door. She knew Rogan's habit well enough to know that he always had the best place to stand between her and danger. And since the door was the only way of getting in, he would place himself between them.

Smoothing her skirt, she gathered her courage. Once she had taken a few breaths and clasped her hands in her lap, she looked up and pierced Rogan with a sharp stare. "Why are you a healer if you are The Destroyer?"

Bitterness seemed to clench at Rogan's features before they smoothed over into his mask. "It is my duty-"

Danielle shook her head and sliced a hand through the air. "Rogan, I know you well enough by now to know that you are lying! I want the truth from you about this. As the Queen of Atlantis, for the sake of the city, I want the truth behind your actions!" Danielle knew she was pushing it. Too much and he wouldn't say anything about it. But just enough, and his sense of honor and duty would compel him to speak the truth.

It seemed she had gotten it right. Rogan's square jaw clenched, his eyes seemed to snap fire at her, but he turned around towards the door and took a breath. His deep voice began after a second of stillness. "I kill the infection in people's body. Whenever someone is sick, I can send some of my power through their body to help them get rid of the viruses or bacteria. I can seal off bad veins, or if an amputation needs to happen, I can help with that as well." His shoulders were stiff, and she knew how much this confession cost him. But she was softening in her chair. And what he said next made her positively melt.

"And... It is my redemption." A shuddering breath shook his shoulders. "The Destroyer part of me wants to... explode, to kill. I refuse to let it guide me. I am Rogan first, then the Destroyer." Danielle watched his head tilt up, defiance at his fate. "If I had my way, I would get rid of the curse in me, cut it out somehow."

Danielle quietly cleared her throat. "Well then, I have decided." She stood up and shook out her skirts. Rogan stood rigid in front of the door. By his posture, she knew he expected terrible news. As if he expected her to banish him, to have him killed. She smiled and shook her head at his folly.

Rogan stood tense, awaiting her verdict. Probably to be sent to the mines in the east. The stronger criminals were sent there. Or maybe she would just have him killed. But, once he was gone, who would protect her? There was only Poseidon now, and even though he was a god, he was one without power. And Hali did not have the knowledge despite the fact that she was very strong.

Danielle was now standing directly behind him. Clenching his hands, he kept them by his side. He would not get to see her once this was over. She would be untouchable. Just the idea sent his head a little crazy. And his arms ached to hold her.

"Rogan, I would have you for my Husband, as the King of Atlantis." Rogan jerked around, his eyes wide and his mouth open.  
The Rest in the Results!

"What? You are not being serious, My Queen! I am dangerous; I can kill people with these powers. You do not know all that I have done!" Rogan crossed his arms over his chest, keeping himself in. He felt like he should be spinning off into the heavens. This was the last thing he had expected.

"What you have done has been for me and for Atlantis. Do not forget that I know you Rogan. I may not know all of your past or what thoughts are going through your head. But I do know the outcome of your actions. And those are just as important. You are a healer, you do not harm people." Rogan opened his mouth to retort, but an imperiously lifted eyebrow quieted him. "You have proven your loyalty to me so many times; I do not believe that you would ever be capable of hurting me or the country in the future. And you are smart enough to help me run everything. By being my body guard, you have learned quite a lot. I know you have, for your rare inputs are knowledgeable and thoughtful. Yes, you are ideal for the position."

Rogan about choked on his words, "But the Matrimonial Ball..."

Danielle shook her head and smiled. "You were there and in costume. Why not pick you." Rogan watched as she dropped her blue eyes to the floor and swallow. "Besides... I am... attracted to you." Danielle mumbled. "I think that it would work between us."

Hope unfurled in his chest. She was attracted to him? She... wanted to marry him. Rogan dropped to one knee before her, feeling as if his chest would burst. She did not say that she loved him, but he was so damned head over heels that he would take what he could. Rogan finally let himself admit it. Bowing his head and placing his arm crossed his chest over his heart, he spoke. "My Queen, you honor me. If I am what you wish for, than I will be your husband."

"Please," came the slightly choked response, "call me Danielle from now on." Rogan looked up, keeping his same position, to where she stood before him. Her blue eyes had a glossy sheen, and she blinked her sooty lashes rapidly. Her golden hair was hastily and simply put up, some curls coming down. The dress she wore was old and plain. Yet she looked every inch the Queen. Every inch Danielle.

Rogan felt his lips spread, and he dropped his guard for the first time in what felt like years. He completely let go of his mask, and did the most ballsy thing. He smiled.


	46. Chapter 46

Hali peeked around the convenient corner of the hall, taking stock of the situation as she pulled the last of the strings holding her dress on out of their bronze loops. Snatching her head back around, she mumbled silently to herself as she lowered the dress down her body, stepping out of the annoying skirts. She frankly hated wearing dresses now. Especially since the material of the skirt seemed to stick to the material of the pants. The result had been a horrendous combination of tangled legs and the skirt riding up. Despite that, the path into the castle had been unnoticed and... not easy, but at least it had been silent.

Hali swallowed as she thought of the things that she and the two men had done. In this day and age, killing someone was completely unethical. Yet here on Atlantis, there seemed to be no problems if you were defending. Rogan was a military man... and Poseidon was an ancient god. They had no problems with it. As for Hali... after the first four men that had been 'silenced' she had stopped throwing up. Hali shuddered once more. She was going to have to get some major therapy after all this.

This is no children's story, Hali sternly told herself, snapping her back into a commanding position. This is for your life, and probably the life of many more people. Hali set her jaw and nodded once to herself. There was nothing she could do. This was the way that it had to be done.

A soothing hand dropped down onto her head, smoothing her hair and then gently resting on the back of her neck. Blushing slightly, Hali looked up at Poseidon, smiling in reassurance at his concerned look. His gorgeous eyes were banked a murky grey today, the weather still reflecting her little experiment with rain and wind. But his hair still was burnished, and the strength of his body strengthened hers. He looked every inch the god.

"Are you ready Hali?" Rogan whispered to her. Tearing her eyes from Poseidon's beloved face, she turned to Rogan and nodded once. Returning her nod, Rogan started to the middle of the hall, "Very well". Hali took a breath, and waited for Rogan's move.

He strode out to the entrance of the hall, past were Hali and Poseidon were plastered against the wall. His body thrummed with energy. The seven guards who stood with their hands on their swords shouted, pulling them out, crying out in an alarm. Rogan, cool and collected, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Hali tensed. Her part would be any second now...

The lights in the corridor flashed a bright green, and then there was only the pitch black of nothing. Hali darted forward two steps, and sent out flying packages of bioluminescence. As the bright blue-white color clung to the panicking guards, she thought wickedly, Good thing it pays to be a nerd and watch National Geographic! The confusion of the guards only increased as Poseidon moved in, a wickedly sharp dagger clasped in both hands. Rogan quickly followed with his sword.

When Hali watched movies, it always seemed as if the bad guys were so easy to kill. Yet, after today, she knew Hollywood for what it was: lies. Despite the fact that the men couldn't see, a fact which Rogan and Poseidon shared, they still retained their other senses. And they were trained. After their initial confusion, they settled down into killers. Poseidon had a nasty scratch along his back, and Rogan sported three on his arm and shoulder from the fights before they had reached this corridor. Apparently Poseidon did not lose any of his skills, and he was ages older than Rogan. Hali settled against the wall, and picked a target. She was no weak willed female, going to scream and leave everything to the men.

Hali watched as the man she had chosen swung his glowing arm at something. The pattern of his movements were not random, he was attacking something. Grunts and calls filled the corridor, and Hali closed her eyes and took a deep breath, finding his heart beat in the madness. Then she found her magic, calling forth the water.

Once the man fell to the ground, water streaming out of his now gaping mouth, Hali opened her eyes and once again focused on the fighting. There were only three more highlighted men standing. And she had no idea if Rogan or Poseidon had fallen. Clenching her teeth, she once again set to work. She couldn't do anything until the guards were dead. She once again chose her target, and another man soon drowned in the corridor.

Hali stood up, her back still against the wall. Adrenaline was rushing through her veins, making her head airy and her teeth chatter. All of the men were down, their hearts stopped. Yet she still heard breathing. Two other hearts beat. Hali slowly lifted her arm, calling forth the ball of light she had learned on the carriage ride. Blue light brightened the corridor, and Poseidon and Rogan, panting and clenching their blood soaked weapons were revealed. They nodded to each other, and again regrouped.

Their actions had not been silent, and therefore they had been noticed. The door at the end of the hall muffled the commands of a very angry man, shouts of compliance and questions issued back. Soon it would be over. One way or another.

"The Kakos Petra is in the center of the room. There are a number of large boulders surrounding it, four between the door and the stone. Seek refuge there; they should shield you from Gristock. The room itself is light by outside sources, this time I will not be able to destroy the light. In order for me to get enough power to destroy the stone, I will have to be uninterrupted for at least thirty seconds." Hali blanched slightly. In a fight, thirty seconds was an eternity. "I will trust you two to keep me guarded." Rogan frowned. "Gristock placed more men in the hall, probably hoping that it would stop me. But he is still unaware that you two are with me. We have the element of surprise; there are three instead of one." He took a deep breath. "Well, let's do this." Poseidon nodded, and Hali licked her chapped lips.

Hali strode towards the door, standing slightly in front of the two men, her light guiding the way. The shouts were becoming less frequent, although clearer. "Beware men! Any second now Rogan will come!" Gristock's voice cut through the door, and anger churning her stomach. Once at the solid wooden door, Rogan nodded down to her, and Hali placed her hands upon it. Digging into her body, she called forth the desire to protect. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was getting tired, the magic draining her. But she still had some left in her. In the circle around her, again the blue and silver swirl of a barrier rose up, obscuring the outside. Hali gave another wicked grin as she heard the shouts of alarm raised by the men inside. The barrier penetrated the walls too.

Rogan jerked the door off of its hinges, and the solid wood flew into the room. Another blast of the Destroyer power. Hali quickly ran into the room, keeping one wall inside of her bubble. The two men followed, Rogan barking out orders, "Veer off the wall here! Go to your right!" A large boulder, two times taller than Rogan and about six feet wide came into view. Hali felt the pounds and clacks of magic and swords on her barrier, and each took some power out of her to maintain the barrier's shape.

"There are at least six men, and uh..." Hali shuddered as another blast of magic hit the silver and blue, "Huh... and Gristock." She added breathlessly. "I cannot hold this much longer!" Poseidon placed himself at the edge of the barrier, where Hali pointed.

"Alright Hali, Drop it!" Hali gladly complied, and as six guards came into focus, Poseidon pounced on them, his two dagger flashing in the natural light. The men certainly seemed surprised before they died. Rogan quickly snaked out with his sword, catching one man off guard, slashing his weapon out of hand, and then quickly his head. Hali's stomach shuddered, but she couldn't be distracted. Calling up her failing magic, Hali shot her hand out and let loose a high powered stream of water. The impromptu laser caught the man bearing down on her in the chest, cutting through his skin and bones to reach his heart. The man fell dead at her feet.

"Ah!" Hali screamed. An arm slipped around her throat, cutting off her air supply, and the man's other hand flashed up to her, a dagger clenching in his hands. Acting on instinct, Hali pushed out with her magic, pressing her magic to her back. Icicles shot through her skin, sharp and deadly as knives, easily dropping the man holding her. She stumbled back against the stone, shaking, glancing at the man she had just killed. It was the pale, evil one. Jason wasn't it. She closed her eyes. That had been too close.

Poseidon ducked back to her side, anger in his face. The six guards that had been around them were disposed of, but there were more. "Dammit Hali! What the hell were you doing?" Hali just shook her head, trying to bring her magic back to her. "You left yourself wide open to for that attack!" Poseidon was raging mad, but Hali could not look at him. She focused her gaze on the pitted wall, flinching as another blast of Gristock's magic hit it.

"Dammit Hali!" Poseidon grabbed her shoulders swinging her around to face him. His face was red, his eyes snapping. "YOU ARE NOT A GOD!" Hali jerked her arm up, Poseidon flinched slightly, but Hali just pushed her hand palm out behind his back, sending forth a frozen stream of ice. The man who was rushing towards Poseidon's exposed back, sword ready to stab, fell to the ground with blood dripping from the hole in his throat.

Hali looked up at Poseidon, tears in her eyes. "And right now, neither are you." Poseidon froze, eyes searching, and without giving her a second to think, Poseidon clamped her head between his hands and brought his head down. Hali raised her lips to his, and she clung to him for a brief, too short second, their kiss desperate and unbreakable. Hali poured forth her love and her fear, desperate for anything he could give her. And then it was over, Poseidon wrenched himself away, and stood at the edge of the rock, jumping back as Gristock's aim took out a chunk. Hali clenched her jaw, and shot another laser of water at an approaching guard. Then another.

That was when all hell broke loose. Green light filled the room, tension and power crackling throughout. The ring on Hali's finger flashed white hot, and she felt her own magic rebel, pushing on her from the inside. The pain burned her, and she cried out, dropping to the cavern floor, curling up into herself. Distantly she heard Gristock's cry of absolute fury, the sound evil and crazed. Then Poseidon yell her name and then he cried out in agony, and then the loudest sound of all, the cracking of stone. Rogan, the Kakos Petra. Chunks of rock and dust bombarded her. Then Hali screamed, the ring on her finger exploded, and everything disappeared in a rush. She was in a wind tunnel... Hali screamed out once more "Poseidon!" An eternity, a second. The rushing stopped.

She was standing. Opening her eyes carefully, Hali couldn't see for a second. A bright light blinded here. Then everything came into focus. A sob caught in her throat, any strength that had held her upright disappeared in a rush, and she sank to the sand below her. Tears obscured the vision before her, slipping down her face. She did nothing to brush them away, her hands limp in the lapping water. She was back. She was back on Roatan.


	47. Chapter 47

Once the green flash left the small chamber, everything was quiet. Large chucks of the Kakos Petra, along with other fragmented pieces were scattered around the room. The spell had been broken, and Rogan was left alone in the room. Poseidon had vanished, but sometime during the green storm of destruction, Rogan had felt a roar of anger, and then something else had been in the room. Something old and ancient and full of power. Poseidon had obviously gotten his powers back. An instant after that, Gristock's scream of fear reverberated through the green cloud. And then nothing remained.

The only evidence of Hali's existence was the fragments of a shiny blue metal, and a scattering of pearls, emeralds, and sapphires. Nothing else remained. She had disappeared.

The change in power once again swept through Atlantis. Although this time, almost everyone seemed to be pleased with it. There was no tightly controlling guard, no confusion about what had taken place during the Matrimonial Ball. Their Queen, Danielle, was once again in place, and calmly taking control of the government. The citizens of Atlantis were alive with the news of Gristock's betrayal, and their chatter was ablaze with the excitement of the upcoming wedding. The first time that the Queen had spoken to her citizens, she had announced her betrothal. Everyone was extremely pleased with the arrangement. It was obvious to all who saw them that they were in love, even if the bride's groom was a bit stoic.

Shortly after Danielle's and Rogan's hurried but grand wedding, three days after the battle; they were visited in their dreams. By Zeus.

Atlantis is blessed to have two such dedicated rulers, The disembodied voice echoed, As such, Gristock has been removed, and will never bother anyone again. Rogan Lefield. You are the current Destroyer, one of many. And yet, only you have ever had a distinctive quality. You are the type of man who would never be tempted with the power to Destroy for evil. You have found a loophole in your powers, a way for you to use them for good. You are purifying the Evil in the Destroyer, and as such, the power will die with you. Now, both of you, live the rest of your lives without too much worry.

Danielle and Rogan awake at the same time in the dark of their bedchamber. And they held each other long past the time that Zeus's words faded into the dark. They were truly blessed.

It had been a week since Hali dropped to her knees in the water. It had been a week since she had met her mother, the first person to come rushing out to where she sat, dazed. Her father and Jace had been close behind her. Hali had not known who the woman was, but once the beautiful lady had dropped down beside her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, something in Hali reacted to her. She was warmth and feelings, and Hali felt so desperately cold and numb.

Hali shivered on the couch. She still felt that way. It had been a week... a week and she could still not bear to look at the ocean. The ocean... was Poseidon. Her mother had said that a week ago, on the day of the fight, all at once the ocean had been alive again. Poseidon controlled it, and while he had been under the influence of the ring, it had been dormant, the tides barely moving, the creatures swimming aimlessly. Once Poseidon was again its master, the sea rushed to do his bidding's. It again became alive. It again called to her mother... a Naiad. And Hali. But Hali would not have been magically in tuned with the ocean to feel its pull. Poseidon was there somewhere. And he was not coming for her.

Hali shivered once more, and stood up from the couch. The room swayed and the TV rattled off aimless shows. She had no idea what the infomercial was trying to sell her. It just kept the thoughts in her head to a minimum.

Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, Hali realized how cold it was. Her teeth chattering, she walked towards the side door. Not the one that face the ocean, but the one that looked at the resort. There was sun there.

Carefully making her way through the still unfamiliar rooms, Hali stepped out onto the porch. She blearily made the connection that it was 82 degrees outside, and sunny, and so she should be warm. Instead she sat down on the steps in the sun, desperately trying to soak up its heat. Placing her arms across her bent knees and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I don't understand," If Hali had had enough energy; she would have jumped at the sound of her mother's voice in her and her father's bedroom. As it was, the voice seemed to come from far away. "Poseidon returned to his full power a week ago. When Artemis was called suddenly to Olympus, it was to address the issues of Atlantis. But that was resolved over four days ago. The sea is once again in its proper pattern... and it is obvious that she loves him." Tears leaked out of Hali's eyes. Oh yes, she loved him. And wasn't that the problem.

She loved him, and would always love him... and she thought that Poseidon had cared about her. The pain in her chest tightened, and she could barely breathe. Hali took deep shuddering breaths, trying to calm herself down. After a week of it, she had a lot of practice. Behind her, Hali's parents still discussed her, but she blocked them. They obviously thought that she was still in the living room. But... if it wasn't for her, they would be blissfully happy. She might be out of it, but she was not stupid. They looked at each other the way that Danielle and Rogan did. The way that Artemis and Jace looked at each other, and they were to be married. Just like Danielle and Rogan had planned. Grunting in frustration, Hali let herself one small uncharitable thought: Was everyone blissfully in love except her? Squaring her jaw, Hali looked up, her eyes clear and her expression determined. It was time to end this.

Standing up and swiftly crossing to her bedroom, Hali threw on the first tops and bottoms of a swimsuit she could find, a green polka dot top and orange bottoms. Once again on the way out the door, Hali grabbed her dive bag, wet suit, and the keys to the new powerboat, and stepped out the door that lead to the water.

Hali kept her head down, not looking at the softly lapping waves just a few yards away. Instead she briskly shoved herself into the wetsuit, grabbed an air tank that was leaning against the wall of their cabin and set up her octo and bc. Strapping that onto her back, Hali grabbed her mask and fins... and then stalled out. She was actually going to do this. Taking a deep breath, Hali took her first glance at the ocean in a week.

Today it was a beautiful sea green, and all Hali could think of was that this was the exact same color as Poseidon's eyes the first time she had met him. When she had pulled him out of the water. And it was the same color as the day she had saved him as a mermaid. A small wistful smile played on her lips. It did almost seem as if she had saved him quite a bit in his kingdom. Shaking herself out of it, Hali walked quickly towards the boat dock. She had to finish it.

Below her was nothing. Hali's breaths came in quick gasps, the shock of it stealing her breath, keeping her from taking deep breaths. Closing her eyes in disgust Hali ripped away the regulator, and took a breath in the water. She was sick of pretending to be something she was not. Sick of allowing herself to wallow in pity. So, sixty feet below the water, Hali shed her diving gear, her bc, tank, fins, mask, and wetsuit, and sent it up to the surface with her bc full of air.

Staring up at the rapidly disappearing black blob, Hali took a deep breath and concentrated. Her magic was still with her, and it had become stronger the instant that she had jumped into the water. Hali's eyes slowly started to change, and the bc, which had been almost gone, jumped back into focus. Below her, were her legs had been treading water, they tingled, and then they fused and became longer. Taking a quick look at herself, she felt the first thrill of life in a week go through her. She was once again a mermaid.

Hali then focused on the nothing beneath her. Here, here was where her whole adventure had started. And now there was nothing left. Poseidon's Wrath was gone. Nothing of the great wooden ship was left on the ocean floor. It took at least two years for something like that to disappear. Swimming just a foot off of the lifeless sand, Hali's lip curled in a silly smile. Well, it shouldn't have even been around a month ago... but it had been. Poseidon's magic.

Well, Hali thought sadly, This is it. The end of my grand adventure. Everything that had happened... nothing remained. The ring, the ship, her friends, Poseidon. All were now nothing but a memory. Poseidon. Hali shivered, and she quickly swam towards the surface, trying to outrun her tears. She would never get to see him again. His ever-changing eyes, his gold hair, his dashing face and strong body. Never be in his arms again.. never sleep next to him, watching his dreams breathe across his face. "Damn you Poseidon." Hali's tears leaked out into the salty ocean, swallowed into the ocean.

"Do you really hate me now?" The solemn voice asked her quietly, jolting her to a halt. The muscles in Hali's body clenched, everything tensing up. The water throbbed with tension, and she was so surprised that she was not fried on the spot. "Hali," Poseidon breathed behind her.

Oh God! The tears came faster, and Hali's mind blanked. Without though, ignoring everything except her body, Hali bolted, her joined legs pushing powerfully through the water, her arms flat by her side, streaming water. She couldn't explain it, she just needed to get away from him, couldn't let him see how she he affected her!

The stream of water hit her eyes hard, and so she just closed them, uncaring if she was no longer sprinting towards the surface. Just to get away. And so when she hit air, Hali transformed herself back into a human quickly, determined to get onto the little powerboat and drive away. As fast as possible. But it didn't work like that. The air she had hit was a bubble, the magic holding it in place small but powerful. Poseidon... the God of the Sea. Desperation clogging the back of her throat, Hali tried to back pedal, get away from the bubble. Yet, once she started to struggle, the bubble expanded, enclosing her within its confines. It worked much like her barrier, although crystal clear. And she was trapped in it.

Hali pounded her fists against the glassy bottom of the bubble. "No!" Her breath caught in a sob. "No..." she whispered again. Here tears were still spilling down her face, unbidden and unstoppable. He was here, in the ocean. He had been since a week ago, and he could have come and found her at any time. But she had had to go out and try to find him. And now he would say some soothing words and let her off easy. She knew enough about men that this is what it would be like. She loved him, but he didn't love her.

"Hali." She kept her head bowed, on her knees, curled up on herself. Oh gods, this was too painful.

"Just say what you mean to say, and then please let me go." Hali knew her voice was weak, but she couldn't bear to put more energy through it. Her body felt heavy, the exhaustion of living in a state of limbo the past week caught up with her. She sagged.

Big, gentle hands curved around her shoulders and carefully straightened her. Too defeated and tired and ready to get this over with, Hali complied. And then he moved before her, dropping to his knees. Hali drank up every nuance of him that she could see. His eyes were indeed the same color, the sea green glowing with concern and with another emotion. She slowly took in the lines of worry around his eyes, his clenched jaw and his wrinkled brow. Pushing past the surge in her that she refused to believe was hope, she focused on what he wore. A white toga wrapped around his waist and up one shoulder, showing the other off with glee. At the base of the lone strap was a medallion of the same blue gold that her ring had been made of. On it was carved a lone wave. God of the Sea.

"Hali, love. Why..."

Love? Her gaze snapped back up to his face. He said love.

"Why did you run? I thought that you would be pleased to see me. Are you alright? You were not hurt were you? If you had been, I would have been back instantly!" The warm hands on her shoulder tightened.

Now anger replaced her defeat. If she had been hurt? "Why do you care?" Hali said, knocking one hand off of her arm. The other hand tightened and then hesitantly dropped away. "You are the one who disappeared for a week!" Hali watched with satisfaction as hurt quickly chased across his face. But then his mask was once again in place, and she felt that vile emotion bubble up even more.

Shooting up, Hali stood with her hands clenched at her side, shaking with all of her pent up anger. Her mouth opened and she started to speak, but she had no control over her words. "You disappeared! Do you know what this last week has been like? I didn't know at first if you had died, if you were hurt. Ha! But you are a god; of course you would not have died! And even if you were hurt you, you should have at least said something to me. But, you are a god! Who would worry about a little mortal like me? Why would a bloody God care about someone who would die in an instant? Even one who loves you, you great-"

The next instant Hali was wrapped tightly in Poseidon's arms, her face pressed against his wonderful, familiar chest. "Don't you speak of dying Hali! Ever!" He enunciated with a little shake. "You are going to live forever!"

Hali's mind blanked, her body freezing. Wha... what was he trying to say?

"It killed me not to come and get you!" Poseidon growled fiercely, his hands now roaming her back, smoothing her wet hair back from her face. "Damn Zeus!" Poseidon wrapped his palms around her chin and tilted her eyes up to his. Passion and energy emitted from every line of his body. Hali was sure that her face was full of confusion. He had wanted to come and get her.

"One of my brother's demands for not taking your memories of Atlantis was that I would not speak to you ever again." Poseidon's face gave away what he thought of Zeus's announcement. "But once I explained to him that I... that you wouldn't be left alone, and about your father and mother and Artemis's love for Jace, he shortened that sentence to one week." Gently cupping her face, he once again smoothed her tangled brown hair back. Hali could only gape in wonder up at him. His eyes searched hers, looking for something. The anger in the sharp panes of his face bled away to be replaced with tenderness and that expression that made her hope. "Did you think that I could ever leave you, Hali?" A warm smile spread across his beautiful lips, and his eyes revealed what he felt before he spoke the words. His arms, his expression, his body revealed it to her before his lips did. "I love you Hali. I would never leave you."

Tingles shot up and down her spine. Warmth chased away the icy numbness and biting anger. Tears once again surfaced, but this time they were the opposite of her grief-stricken ones. "Oh Gods!" Hali threw her arms around Poseidon's neck. "Poseidon! Oh, you know I love you desperately, forever!" Laughing and crying Hali clung to him, feeling his own joyful laughter rumble through his chest, into her, to a part that he would never be rid of. And then Poseidon's lips crushed down on hers, and she returned his kisses eagerly, desperately, with time consuming slowness and haste, relishing the fact that they were once again in each other's arms. And that this time, there would be no parting. Only together forever.

Poseidon filled Hali completely. She had found her missing something... in him. In Poseidon. Her Greek God.


End file.
